Almost anything that US President Donald Trump posts online turns into a meme or goes viral. Trump’s photos from the G-20 Summit with politicians from different countries have turned into side-splitting memes. Russian President Vladimir Putin and our very own PM Narendra Modi aren’t far behind when it comes to being the subject of witty memes. From naming the trio of Modi, Trump and Melania Trump to ‘Lotus, Potus and Flotus’ to creating GIFs about political events, meme makers are on a roll.
South Indian actress Samyukta Hornad who follows a numerous hilarious accounts on Twitter, says, “The demonetisation was the best time to be on the Internet. The jokes made my day. To entertain in 140 characters and create memes which are well-worded is an art in itself.”
Political memes are a good way to reach out to youngsters who don’t follow current affairs seriously, opines Samyukta, adding, “Many were not following GST, but when it was made into memes, they found out about it. Across the world, you’re allowed to talk about politics and even roast political leaders and I think it’s time we started making fun of these things. Although they’re comical, there’s so much seriousness in what’s being said too.”
A GIF of Putin talking to German politician Angela Merkel where the latter appears to be rolling her eyes was titled ‘mansplaining’ and photos of Modi hitting the beach with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu were given amusing captions. When Trump misspelt ‘coverage’ as ‘covfefe’ on Twitter, people went ballistic. “Covfefe was a classic. Trump uses Twitter to announce his policies as he doesn’t believe in media, so this gives all the more fodder to users. There were also memes about the ‘peacock tears’ statement by an Indian High Court Judge. Clearly, there’s a generation gap as most world leaders are not in the same age group as those who are trolling. This trend is here to stay and is one of the quickest ways for politicians to stay in the news. Earlier, we had to wait until the next day to see a small comic strip, but now, we don’t have to,” says radio presenter Sriram Sullia.
While there are also fake photos that are going viral, there’s no denying that memes rule the ‘roast.’ Sit back and enjoy the fun!
