u/violinte oThe next American federal election is still a year and a half away, and yet the racers have already left the starting line. Following the relatively massive role the internet played in the 2016 election, reddit and 4chan users are back at it again with a new posterboy for electoral memes. His name is Andrew Yang and, whether he likes it or not, he is the leader of the YangGang.
Yang, an entrepreneur with no formal political experience, has a very distinct view of what progressive politics will look like in the near future. He has based his campaign on a universal basic income (UBI) of $1,000 a month to all Americans aged 18-64. UBI is a controversial issue, with Republicans condemning the tax hikes and Democrats lauding the possible social benefits. However, Yang doesn’t believe UBI is arguable; he rather thinks it’s a necessary precaution against mass unemployment that future automation of industry will likely bring.
An American businessman, an outsider to politics, with a large following on the internet. Now where have I heard this story before?
The difference between Yang and a Donald Trump is that Yang is relatively unknown. Before taking the presidency, Trump was well-known for being a prominent American businessman, with cultural cameos in things like The Apprentice and Home Alone 2. Yang was so obscure before he began campaigning that mainstream networks wouldn’t take him in for interviews. He had to turn to online podcasts in order to gain a foothold, which was likely what led to the propagation of his internet popularity.
Unfortunately, because a lot of memes that currently make up Yang’s campaign come from 4chan, they have a white nationalist tint (one of 4chan’s claims to fame was using the once popular Pepe meme alongside racist messaging until it became a registered hate symbol). A wretched hive of scum and villainy due to its anonymous nature, 4chan has made it easy for users to post YangGang memes that might also be Nazi propaganda without consequence.
Yang vehemently denounces any racist or white nationalist supporters of his campaign, but this doesn’t void their existence.
While toned-down in comparison to 4chan, reddit users on the YangForPresidentHQ subreddit have effectively driven out all use of memes in their community in order to prevent further sabotage to Yang’s campaign. However, 4chan users haven’t satiated their need for Yang memes, and it’s difficult to tell whether this is because they don’t know how else to express their support, or they want to bring his campaign to an early death. While meme culture did wonders for Trump’s 2016 campaign, it was significantly less kind to Hillary Clinton; it was clear that people didn’t want to Pokémon Go to the polls to vote for her.
It’s not far off to say that meme culture will affect Yang in a similar way to Clinton because unlike Trump, Yang’s true supporters would feel alienated by YangGang memes. YangGang memes are often pretty edgy and immersed in fringe meme culture, which would likely be insulting and alien to the Democrat voting populace Yang is shooting for.
While the internet is a loud minority — polls show that Yang is getting about 1 per cent of popular support — it’s not unfathomable that Yang could meme his way to the Democratic nomination, especially given the context of the 2016 election. But Yang needs to consider whether or not he wants his internet popularity to increase by these means. Allowing YangGang memes to run rampant may indelibly stain Yang’s career with the white nationalist marker that currently colours Trump. Yang can steer into the skid and reap the benefits of his internet popularity, but the long term consequences may be dire.
