Unless you live under the proverbial rock, you surely have come across Internet memes a few times. Memes are basically viral images, videos, slogans, etc., which might morph and evolve but eventually enter popular culture. When thinking about memes, most people associate them with ironic or irreverent images, from Bad Luck Brian to classics like Grumpy Cats.
Unfortunately, not all memes are funny. Some might even look as innocuous as a frog but are in fact well-known symbols of hate. Ever since the 2016 US Presidential Election, memes have been increasingly associated with politics.
But how exactly do memes originate, spread, and gain influence on mainstream media? To answer this question, our recent paper (“On the Origins of Memes by Means of Fringe Web Communities”) presents the largest scientific study of memes to date, using a dataset of 160 million images from various social networks. We show how “fringe” Web communities like 4chan’s “politically incorrect board” (/pol/) and certain “subreddits” like The_Donald are successful in generating and pushing a wide variety of racist, hateful, and politically charged memes.
(And by the way, we’re happy to report that our work received the Distinguished Paper Award from the 2018 ACM Internet Measurement Conference!)
Our study uses images posted on Twitter, Reddit, 4chan, and Gab. (The latter is a Twitter-like social network positioning itself as a “champion” of free speech, providing shelter to users banned from other platforms—you might have heard of Gab in the context of the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting). We group visually similar images, using a technique called perceptual hashing.
Then, we identify groups of images that belong to the same meme and annotate them using “metadata” obtained from Know Your Meme, which is a comprehensive online encyclopedia of memes.
This approach allows us to analyze different social networks through the lens of “their” memes. What we found was very revealing (and, at times, disturbing). Fringe social networks like /pol/ and Gab share hateful and racist memes at an impressive rate, producing countless variants of antisemitic and pro-nazi memes like the Happy Merchant, or including some version of Adolf Hitler in other images. Memes like Pepe the Frog and its variants are often used in conjunction with other memes to incite hate or influence public opinion on world events (e.g., ISIS or Brexit).
Also, fringe Web communities have the power to twist the meaning of specific memes, change their target context, and make them go viral on mainstream communities. A perfect example is the NPC meme, which refers to non-playable characters in video games that are controlled by computers. This meme was pushed on Twitter by 4chan and Reddit users in September 2018 and used in the political spectrum by referring to liberals as NPCs (i.e., people that have no critical thinking, bound by unchangeable programming, and are manipulated by others).
Measuring Influence
Looking at Web communities in isolation only provides a limited view of the meme ecosystem. Communities do influence each other: memes posted on one are often re-posted on another. So how can we measure the interplay between Web communities and quantify their reciprocal influence?
We turn to statistical models known as Hawkes processes, which let us say with confidence that a particular event is caused by a previous event. That is, we can be confident that an event on /pol/ (i.e., posting a meme) resulted on an event on Twitter (i.e., the same meme is posted on Twitter), thus denoting influence from 4chan to Twitter. This way, we can model the influence of the various platforms, since they are not independent: each one is influenced by the others as well as the greater Web.
We find that /pol/ is by far the most influential disseminator of memes in terms of the raw number of memes originating from it. In particular, it is more influential in spreading racist and political memes. However, The_Donald subreddit is actually the most “efficient” at spreading these memes onto other fringe social networks as well as mainstream ones like Twitter.
Looking ahead
While most memes are generally ironic in nature, used with no bad intentions, others have assumed negative or hateful connotations, including outright racist and aggressive undertones. These memes, often generated by fringe communities, have also become part of political and ideological propaganda. Shedding light on their origins, their propagation, and influence provides our society with a better understanding of the dangers they pose.
We have made our processing pipeline as well as our datasets publicly available on GitHub. We are confident this will allow researchers and social scientists monitor how weaponized memes might influence future elections and the broad political discourse. For example, we worked with Facebook to help their recent efforts to mitigate manipulation campaigns during the 2018 US Midterm elections. In particular, we provided them, in real-time, with examples of politically motivated memes that were originated from fringe communities. Our work allowed Facebook to gain a better understanding of dangerous memes and monitor their spread through the platform in politically relevant contexts. Overall, our pipeline can be used by mainstream social networks to assist the identification of hateful content, e.g., to automatically identify hateful variants of popular memes (think of “Nazi” Pepe).
Addendum: Memes produced by 4chan in response to our work
Some of the communities we study in the current work have taken an interest in our previous work. 4chan’s /pol/ has taken a particular interest, providing additional evidence to the community’s meme creating “ability.” (Read more about 4chan and their reaction to our work in a previous article – A Longitudinal Measurement Study of 4chan’s Politically Incorrect Forum and its Effect on the Web).
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under the ENCASE project. An edited version of this article was originally published on The Conversation, written by Emiliano De Cristofaro.
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Jak ktos woli prawdziwego krupiera — obsluguje to Evolution, na zywca, plus te cale game show typu Crazy Time. Zjada czas bardziej niz myslalem. Co do kasy — korzystam z Visa i Skrill, mozna rowniez krypto. Pierwszy cashout dostalem w jakies pol dnia, e-portfele ida najszybciej. Mozesz podejrzec aktualne kody i promki na 888starz online przed rejestracja, regularnie sie aktualizuje.
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Nie wszystko jest idealne — czat bywa ze odpisuje z opoznieniem, zwlaszcza pod obciazeniem. KYC tez mnie wkurzyla, ale widocznie przy licencji tak musi byc. Ogolnie — jestem raczej zadowolony, zdania w sieci sa rozne, wiec wyrob sobie wlasne, bez szalenstwa na start.
Na 888starz siedze raczej dobre kilka miesiecy i stwierdzilem, ze wrzuce swoje wrazenia. Nie ma co owijac w bawelne — dorwalem link na jakims forum i jakos zostalem. U nas w Polsce ciezko o porzadnych miejscowek, wiec kazde takie zawsze testuje na spokojnie.
Przede wszystkim lece w automaty i tego dobra jest tu naprawde sporo. Jest chyba z trzy tysiace automatow, od Pragmatic Play przez NetEnt, Play’n GO oraz Yggdrasil. Standardowe Gates of Olympus oraz Book of Dead sa bez szukania, choc prawde mowiac zwykle siedze na paru swoich tytulow. Ladowanie dziala gladko nawet na slabszym telefonie.
Jesli wolisz klimat kasyna na zywo — sa stoly od Evolution, na realnych ludziach, a jeszcze te cale teleturnieje w stylu Crazy Time. Zjada czas na calego. Jesli chodzi o forse — korzystam z karte i Neteller, obsluguje tez Mastercard. Pierwsza wyplate mialem na koncie w niecale pol dnia, Skrillem sa najszybsze. Jesli komus zalezy na aktualne kody i promki na 888starz no deposit bonus przed rejestracja, bo sie zmieniaja.
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Zeby nie bylo za rozowo — support potrafi kaze czekac, szczegolnie wieczorami. Sprawdzanie dokumentow delikatnie zmeczyla, ale rozumiem, ze z powodu licencji tak musi byc. Ogolnie — jestem raczej zadowolony, zdania na forach sa rozne, wiec zobacz na spokojnie, na malych stawkach.
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So — been using this thing for maybe six months now and it’s basically bookmarked at this point, reckon I’d say something since a lad on another thread asked me the other day. I’m UK based, generally do football and horses, nothing mad, for context.
What got me on it was honestly pretty stupid — I could never get my head round what an each way payout actually was once you get five places instead of three. Basically I’d eyeball it and then be surprised. Now I punch the numbers in before I place anything, even a straight one-selection punt.
Their single bet calculator is the part I use most — type in stake and odds and you get returns straight away, fractional or decimal, doesn’t matter. It also handles the multiples — acca and treble maths, a lucky 15, patents and yankees, which is where I always lose track. If you want a look, it lives at yankee bet calculator and there’s no login wall, which I appreciated.
What really shifted things for me was the geekier bits. There’s an odds-to-probability converter which shows you how much the bookie’s taking, plus a kelly tool — I run quarter kelly because full kelly is a quick route to a dead bankroll. The dutch tool gets used a fair bit for when I’m splitting a race.
It’s not perfect mind. Its layout feels very functional, let’s say — no frills, it’s clearly function over form. On my phone it works but the lucky 63 breakdown make you pinch and zoom. There’s no proper app, it’s a website and that’s it — slight shame but worth saying.
Anyway. Free, not plastered in adverts, works. If you even now does the maths on paper, give it a go — it’s saved me plenty of dumb bets I’d have regretted.
OK — have been messing about with this thing for about four months now and I keep coming back, so figured I’d say something since a mate asked me last week. I’m UK based, generally bet football and racing, small stakes, so take it how you like.
The reason I started using it was actually pretty stupid — I never could get my head round what an each way return would be with 1/5 odds a place. Basically I’d guess and get a shock. Now type the odds in before I place anything, even the boring singles.
Their single bet calculator is the bit I’m on daily — you put in your stake, the odds and you get returns straight away, fractions or decimals. There’s also the fiddly ones — doubles and trebles maths, lucky 15 and lucky 63, a yankee, honestly that’s where most people I know mess it up. Have a go yourself, it’s over at lay dutching calculator — free, no signup.
What genuinely shifted things for me is the geekier tools. They’ve got an odds-to-probability calculator that shows the overround, plus a kelly calculator — I run quarter kelly since full stakes are a quick route to a dead bankroll. The dutching one gets used a fair bit for when I’m spreading across selections.
Couple of gripes. Its design feels a bit basic — zero polish, it’s clearly function over form. Phone-wise it’s fine but the lucky 63 breakdown need a bit of scrolling. And no proper app, it’s a website and that’s it — fine by me but worth saying.
So yeah. Free, not plastered in adverts, does what it says. If you even now adds it up in their head, have a look — saved me a load of dumb bets I’d have regretted.
OK — been using this thing for about six months now and it’s stuck on my phone, reckon I’d write something up since a lad on another thread asked me the other day. I’m in the UK, mainly stick to footie and the horses, small stakes, so take it how you like.
How I found it was actually embarrassing — I could never get my head round what an ew payout would be with 1/5 odds a place. I used to just guess and get a shock. Now I punch the numbers in before every slip, even a straight one-selection punt.
The single bet calculator tool is the one I use most — type in the price and your stake and it spits out profit and total return with no faffing, either odds format. Same tool covers the bigger stuff — doubles and trebles returns, lucky 15 and lucky 63, a yankee, which is where most people I know lose track. If you want a look, it’s over at exchange bet calculator and there’s no login wall, which I appreciated.
What actually shifted things for me is the nerdier bits. The odds-to-probability calculator that shows the overround, and there’s the kelly calculator — I run quarter kelly since full stakes are a quick route to a dead bankroll. The dutching one is handy too when I’m splitting a race.
It’s not perfect mind. Its interface feels a bit basic — zero flash, it’s clearly function over form. Phone-wise it works but the acca grid make you pinch and zoom. There’s nothing on the app store, it’s browser only — fine by me but you asked.
So yeah. Free, no ads shoved in your face, works. If you honestly does the maths on paper, try it — saved me a load of dumb bets I’d have regretted.
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Ya llevo como cinco meses en 888starz y para que mentir tenia dudas al principio, porque aqui en Espana uno se cansa de sitios que se caen cada dos por tres. Darse de alta no me llevo ni dos minutos, correo, contrasena y listo, y el deposito minimo es de 1 euro, asi puedes tantear sin jugarte el sueldo.
De tragaperras hay una barbaridad — creo que pasan de unos 10.000 juegos entre Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, Play’n GO, Betsoft y Yggdrasil. Yo tiro mucho de Book of Dead y Gates of Olympus, eso si de vez en cuando pruebo cosas de Big Time Gaming. Lo que si el filtro por proveedor a veces se atasca cuando hay tantisimo.
La parte de crupier real es de Evolution, basicamente y se nota la diferencia: mesas con crupier en espanol, Crazy Time y Monopoly Live que enganchan una barbaridad. El bono de bienvenida es de un 130% con 100 tiradas gratis, hay que apostarlo unas 35 veces, que no es regalado pero tampoco un robo. Tambien hay algun free spin sin deposito, conviene revisar las condiciones exactas en 888starz código promocional antes de meter dinero.
El tema de sacar pasta va bastante fino. Retire el otro dia via e-wallet y entro casi al momento. Con Visa se va a dos o tres dias, nada nuevo. Van con Neteller, cripto que es lo mas rapido con diferencia.
En el telefono va suave, tienen app para Android aunque la web movil me va igual de bien. La atencion al cliente esta en espanol, tardaron unos 10 minutos cuando pregunte por el KYC. Operan con licencia de Curazao, asi que no es un.es regulado y conviene tenerlo claro. Por ahora no me ha fallado, y sin volverse loco con los bonos.