Create a meme applied to information influence activities

There is no prior knowledge needed for students to follow this lecture.

Creating a Strategic Meme

Students design a meme along with a justification of its strategic purpose, target audience, and potential risks associated with its strategic use

Relevant reading to understand the materials:

Wiggins, B. E. (2019). The discursive power of memes in digital culture. Ideology, semiotics, and intertextuality. Routledge.
Nissen, Thomas Elkjær 2015. The Weaponization of Social Media: Characteristics of Contemporary Conflicts. Copenhagen: Royal Danish Defence College.
O’Loughlin, Ben; Miskimmon, Alister; Roselle, Laura 2017. Strategic Narratives: Methods and Ethics. In: Forging the World: Strategic Narratives and International Relations, (eds. A. Miskimmon; B. O’Loughlin; L. Roselle). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 23–55.
Prøitz, Lin 2017. Visual social media and affectivity: the impact of the image of Alan Kurdi and young people’s response to the refugee crisis in Oslo and Sheffield. Information, Communication & Society.

Further reading to further develop the activity/understanding of the topic:

Marino, G. (2015). Semiotics of spreadability A systematic approach to Internet memes and virality. Punctum, 1(1), 43-66.
Lenhardt, C. (2016). “Free Peltier now!” The use of internet memes in American Indian activism. American Indian Culture and Research Journal 40(3), 67–84.

Marino, G. (2015). Semiotics of spreadability A systematic approach to Internet memes and virality. Punctum, 1(1), 43-66.

Students design a meme along with a justification of its strategic purpose, target audience, and potential risks associated with its strategic use

In assessing whether students have understood the materials, educators should reflect on the following:

Students are able to design a meme that aligns with a clear strategic purpose.
Students are able to justify the strategic intent behind their meme, explaining its intended impact.
Students are able to identify and describe the target audience for their meme, including relevant demographic and psychographic characteristics.
Students are able to analyze potential risks associated with the strategic use of their meme, such as ethical concerns, misinterpretation, or unintended consequences.

Students may be asked to send the strategically created memes as homework to a peer, who will provide feedback on how the meme worked on them. In class, we can compare both the meme creator’s and the peer’s arguments regarding the meme’s effectiveness in information influence and discuss the possible reasons behind any differences in interpretation.

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