Net icons and memetic imagery of protest in online activism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12700643 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kathrin Fahlenbrach (0000-0001-5732-8718, Institute for Media & Communication, University of Hamburg, Germany, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-29 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Visual Communication (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1470-3572 • E-ISSN: 1741-3214 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/14703572241283871 |
| OpenAlex | W4407003357 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 26 |
The article is dedicated to memetic practices of symbolic protest images in online activism, focusing on net memes and net icons of protest. Considering the particular affordances in the creation, distribution and reception of memetic imagery in online activism, key research questions are: (1) what are distinctive memetic practices in online activism of iconizing images on social media platforms? (2) what are specific differences between net memes and iconic imagery of protest in social media environments? and (3) how do emblematic image events on the street and iconic imagery on the internet interact in visual practices of online activists? After a theoretical discussion, these questions will be addressed by means of a qualitative analysis of a small sample of social media postings around civil rights activism (Black Lives Matter and the Belarussian Democracy Movement). Starting from a classic news icon originating from the protests against the Vietnam War (‘Ultimate Confrontation’ by press photographer, Marc Riboud, in 1967), this article analyses its recent memetic appropriations on digital platforms and in performative protest actions on the street
Advertising · Aesthetics · Art · Business · Media studies · Memetic algorithm · Sociology · Visual arts · Computer Science · Digital Games and Media · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Social Media and Politics · Artificial Intelligence
Image Operations
Cyberprotest
The Platform Society
Image Events, the Public Sphere, and Argumentative Practice
The Body in the Mind
Hashtags, Tweets, Protest? Varianten des digitalen Aktivismus
Visual Memes as Neutralizers of Political Dissent
“Do You Want Meme War?” Understanding the Visual Memes of the German Far Right
Picturing protest
Images of protest in social media
Resemiotisations across time, space, materials and modes
Reviving icons to death
Loving Ebola-chan
Embodiment in activist images
Conflict imagery in a connective environment
Movements and Media as Interacting Systems
Détournement in social media visuals for a shared activist identity and imagery
Aesthetics of protest
Constructing, confirming, and contesting icons
Beyond the iconic protest images
Memes in a Digital World
Beyond 'Riot Porn
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |