memetic warfare

English

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Noun

memetic warfare (uncountable)

1. The usage of Internet memes in an effort to achieve geopolitical goals or to enact social change.
   • 2016 January 10, Jeff Giesea, “It’s Time To Embrace Memetic Warfare”, in Defence Strategic Communications‎^[1], volume 1, number 1, →DOI, pages 68–76:

     I believe memetic warfare could be effective in countering Daesh’s recruiting and propaganda efforts and in modern conflict in general, including operations other than war. Trolling, it might be said, is the social media equivalent of guerrilla warfare, and memes are its currency of propaganda.

   • 2018, Catherine Happer, Andrew Hoskins, William Merrin, editors, Trump’s Media War, Springer, →ISBN, page 219:

     The concept of 'memetic warfare' emerged out of military debates as an extension of informational war and psyops.

   • 2021, Lisa Nakamura, Hanah Stiverson, Kyle Lindsey, Racist Zoombombing‎^[2], Routledge, →ISBN:

     Gamergate, "the Fappening" (or Celebgate), and the subsequent Comicsgate are examples of campaigns that deployed active memetic warfare in racialized and gendered ways to attack and drive away a constructed enemy.