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• 1 2026-04-21T18:42:15+00:00 Flooding the Zone: Moral Desensitization and Propaganda in Memes 14 plain 2026-04-22T01:27:38+00:00

  The digital age has brought upon many technological advancements, with some being more beneficial than others and some, more popular. Amidst the rise of the Internet, the expansion of the meme began, giving billions of users access to a language of communication that defies the boundaries of conversing across official languages. The most common definition of “meme” today is one that expresses its medium (photo, video, text), its platform (the Internet), and its essence (typically humour-related). By definition, it would seem apparent that the Internet precedes the meme, though this is false. In 1976, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins coined the term to define a unit of expressing cultural transmission in his book The Selfish Gene (Dawkins 192). Memes initially acted as a means of creating community through shared expression, but as the Internet has progressed into an algorithmic myriad of content, memetic language has become one that is deeply complex and multifaceted, turning billions of content viewers into multilingual Internet intellectuals. Though memes are typically presented to bring joy and entertainment, the context of memes has become gradually centered in negative realities. The content and form of this ‘dark humour’ can contain psychological consequences for its viewers. This paper will discuss how the memeification of unethical situations on digital platforms induces moral desensitization in its viewers while simultaneously acting as a form of political propaganda. 

  Using non-participant observation, I have browsed multiple platforms of social media including Reddit, Instagram, and other meme-sharing platforms to research the relationships between cultural information and the creation of memes, as well as the ways in which political affiliation differs in the formats and content of the meme language. I will be using qualitative data to understand the sociological and psychological effects of moral desensitization and propaganda, as well as quantitative data to inform the extent of these effects in society. This essay will include the discussion of the memetic format through its history and evolution, as well as its present market of consumption and production. After the meme has been evaluated, I will argue that the reliance of memes on cultural discourse creates the language of ‘dark humour’, which will be examined through the lens of moral desensitization and the consequences of this phenomenon. I will also analyze the use of propaganda in memes, as well as how its format is an imitation of historical persuasion. Overall, an argument will be made that propaganda and moral desensitization commonly live within memes in order to warn about the negative consequences of entertainment through the form of immoral acts. 

  The Meme Then and Now: 

  Dawkins employed the term “meme” as an imitation of ‘gene’, wanting to indicate the way memes propagate themselves in the same format as genes – body to body through sperm and eggs as memes move from brain to brain (Dawkins 192). This form of imitation has extended beyond Dawkins’ original definition through their extreme and rapid replication and transmission. Limor Shifman in “The Cultural Logic of Photo-Based Meme Genres”, examines the format of the photo-based meme today and their direct lineage to Dawkins’ original meaning, by defining them as: “a group of digital items that: (a) share common characteristics of content, form, and/or stance; (b) are created with awareness of each other; and (c) are circulated, imitated, and transformed via the internet by multiple users” (341). This definition of the meme highlights the majority of content online, which is posted for the purpose of sharing and building community. The evolution of memes on the Internet have become both symbiotic with the Internet and themselves; they share a strong dependence on one another for survival (both the meme-to-meme and meme-to-Internet relationship), and the production of memes depends upon the rapid creation of offspring to remain relevant. 

  Memes as visual and textual culture first began on the Internet with the emoticon: (:-)), which birthed the beginning of transmitting expression through Internet memes (Beskow et al). This simple emoticon has now become a widely integrated part of the world lexicon, transcendent of any official language barrier. As the Internet developed, memes began taking the shape of visual formats, such as photos and videos as a way to inspire new forms of entertainment. As the Internet has evolved to create space for large platforms and excessive amounts of media and users, memes have become habituated within daily life, whether it be the user who sends an emoticon, the individual who scrolls through various platforms of social media, or the creators of the memes themselves who spend time researching cultural developments and turning them into forms of enjoyment. 

  Consumption and Production: 

  According to Statista, as of October 2025 there are approximately 5.66 billion social media user identities online, marking over half of the world’s population with a 63.9% social media penetration rate (Statista). This massive audience of people creates a market for the consumption of media. Technological identities produce sites focused upon the sort of addictive, memetic communication needed to hold the vast community of online identities, including applications such as Tiktok and Instagram, whose platforms solely produce visual content. Though, meme culture is embedded into most forms of digital communication such as LinkedIn, Reddit, and messaging platforms apps that allow the use of emoticons, GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format) and other visual mediums. As most forms of consumption on digital media platforms are through the use of the visual format, the meme thrives within these spaces that are the Internet territory of Dawkins’ definition. Due to the widespread consumption of memes, production has to remain at a mass scale to keep up with an ever-increasing rate of content. This mass production repeats itself in new forms, whether it be new visual formatting or the context the meme is based upon, in order to maintain relevancy. The production of memes not only relies upon its consumers but the content of the meme itself; producers must remain up to date on social situations in order to progress in their creation. This dependence of the production-consumption market depends upon the reliance of the viewer to the content, as Jana Zündel discusses in “Undetectable participation in meme culture – meme audiences between interpassivity and emotional gratification”. She argues that “the communication of a shared experience on the part of meme producers can then only succeed if the meme recipients are “embedded” in the same cultural or social, regional, national or global discourses” (Zündel). The drive to understand significance in cultural media forces the viewer to remain “embedded” within the context of the meme’s relevance, which most often reflects political and social discourse and events (see Fig. 1). 
  
  

  The Dark Side of Memes: 

  The original, inherently non-harmful sort of meme is one that acts solely as a way of spreading entertainment – the ‘wholesome’ meme. This form of content has presently been given its own sub-genre, separated from meme formats that are no longer for entertainment in and of itself, but ones that rely upon often negative discourse. In this space, ‘dark humour’ is a leading form of entertainment. This meme format most commonly portrays behaviours of oppression and discrimination; dark humour disguises hatred under the guise of comedy. The most common forms of dark humour integrate racism, police brutality, sexism, and homophobia within their messaging. Though, this genre can extend beyond blatant oppression and can also be applied to harmful social and political situations which have been turned into memetic content. Recent upheavals in major global and criminal controversy have contributed to the form of dark humour. There have been widespread circulations on social media regarding incidents such as the criminal case against Sean “Diddy” Coombs and the release of the Epstein files. The memeification of lived trauma through dark humour delegitimizes the reality and desensitizes its viewers to tragedy, as the experiences are not approached through the lens of sympathy but one of amusement. 

  Moral Desensitization Through Comedy: 

  Repeated exposure to these forms of dark humour can have devastating consequences unbeknownst to its viewers. This sort of content that floods social media can cause emotional disturbances known as ‘moral desensitization’. This concept has been widely researched through multiple social lenses, as scholars Ahmad Irfan Muzni, Latipun, and Muhammad Salis Yuniardi have found in “Moral desensitization in the digital age: A synthesis of theory, empirical evidence, and implications (a narrative review)”. Through the integration of multiple studies, they have concluded the implications of moral desensitization: 

   “At the individual level, moral desensitization triggers changes in how a person interprets right and wrong actions, blurring ethical boundaries, and potentially increasing the risk of antisocial behavior and violence [1,3]. Meanwhile, at the social level, the emergence of permissive behavior towards violence can threaten social cohesion and reduce people's sensitivity to the suffering or injustice experienced by others [7,8]. The effects of desensitization can extend from fictional media to responses to violence in the real world, weakening prosocial norms and strengthening permissive attitudes towards ethical violations [2,5,6]”. (Muzni et al)

   Through repeated exposure of external forces that portray and interpret violent acts, there is an intellectual decline which affects the levels of ethical condemnation one can produce towards such situations. The desensitized brain becomes limited in navigating the moral compass to deduce and separate right from wrong. Furthermore, “repeated exposure to descriptions of violations makes them judged less unethical [10], an effect confirmed in naturalistic studies [8]” (Muzni et al 5). As meme culture is most often situated in relevant context, informed by global news and political discourse, ‘memeifying’ situations like that of the Sean Coombs evidence or the Epstein files significantly lessens the narrative in which these situations are deemed morally wrong. By placing satirical and humorous content to people who have committed serious crimes,  moral desensitization within these memes actively degrades the ethical condemnation viewers can place upon the situation and/or person in the meme. This sort of ethical degradation not only weakens the mind of the viewer in its repetitive intake, but it broadens the boundaries of permissive behavior and weakens the sensitivity to suffering and harm upon others (Muzni). 

  The most prominent effect of moral desensitization due to the ability to witness its long term effects are the emotions felt towards the events of 9/11. In 2001, this event caused extreme trauma and worldwide catastrophe that still has ongoing effects. Taking place 25 years ago amidst the rise of meme culture, the common consensus has become fairly desensitized to the incident. Though there is generational distance and constant prevalent tragedy in today’s age, the events of 9/11 are still very much in circulation due to meme culture. This constant recurrence of memes has invoked many differing emotions, with the most prominent associations of the digital age being those connected to memetic conspiracy theories and humour (see Fig. 2). 
  
  

  Jessamyn Neuhaus conducted research questioning if we are able to disseminate 9/11 conspiracy theories in “Can We Counteract the September 11 Conspiracy Meme? An Argument for Using the Documentary 9/11 in the American Survey”, where she argues that viewing the traumatic reality portrayed in the documentary is actively fighting back against the widespread desensitization of millions of young adults, most of whom actively believe and reiterate conspiracy theories surrounding the event (Neuhaus 9). The majority of understanding about 9/11 in today’s age has been shaped by the everlasting presence of memes and discourse surrounding the event rather than the nature of the tragic situation; the mind has actively associated the event with a flood of memes which has contributed to a weakened sensitivity to tragedy. Though ultimately, Neuhaus received positive confirmation in educating the students about the lived realities and consequences of the event by severing the comedic interpretation from the factual information. 

  While meme culture was still beginning to rise in the early 2000s, today memes have become an essential part of how we interact with everyday life. The recycled nature of memes relies upon contemporary events to create engaging content. As seen with 9/11, these memes cheapen serious events with a real world impact into an ordinary joke. This can be further seen with current events such as the release of the Epstein Files or the case against Sean “Diddy” Coombs. The repetitive quality of memes today, in conjunction with the insensitive tone leads consumers to be jaded to the content. By ‘flooding the zone’ with content that diminishes the severity of real events, users become desensitized to the brutal realities of the situation. The situations then become a source of entertainment, replacing emotions such as disgust and devastation with humour. In reference to the criminal case against Sean Coombs regarding sex crimes, baby oil became a massive comedic Internet reference. These jokes have become common amongst adolescent audiences; most of whom are likely too young to understand the implications of the joke, let alone the severity of the real world event. (see Fig. 3). 
  
  
  
  
  

  This meme of Jeffrey Epstein (see Fig. 4) highlights the dangers of what viewers are able to comprehend as entertainment. This meme includes deeply violent material; though there is no explicit content within the actual image, it has deeply horrific implications within its context of Jeffrey Epstein, who had been arrested and jailed for his pedophilic sex-trafficking, sitting alongside a young girl. The photo’s caption is used in a joking manner with romantic connotations, whilst simultaneously using shock value to increase visibility and traction. This photo alone should not be looked at in any way that brings positive emotions, furthermore the romanticism of the photo diminishes the ethical condemnation and sensitivity to pedophilic acts, and encourages viewers to participate in the crimes that have been committed by Jeffrey Epstein. 

  Propaganda as an Imitation of History: 

  Within these online platforms, there is a plethora of memes catered to specific target audiences that becomes easily recognized and reproduced, acting as imitations of one another, often using the same base photo or video with differing text, or vice versa. These different subgroups that memes cater to are most often defined by alignment in beliefs, in which the algorithm caters to echo chambers of ideologies. As social media has become widely revolved around political discourse, memes are produced in a way which elevates and criticizes the people and situations of their choosing. This memeification of complex political commentary into short blips of content, which is often too simple and short-form to develop factual evidence or to even be based in fact, can quickly conform to certain ideologies and become forms of propaganda. According to Petru-Ioan Marian-Arnat in “The Meme War – Propaganda and Resistance in Social Media”, “the desire for political and social activism, for participation in the public life of users is rather marginal, compared to the need for information, entertainment or socialization” (151). Users oftentimes fall into broad categories that serve their political ideologies in the drive for community and in doing so, rely on the purpose of memes to smear opposing figures and deify the people they support, as concluded by groups they’ve defined themselves within. 

  The formatting of memes is often what makes them easily comprehensible and relatable, though this quick understanding can have deeper meanings when situated within political context. The use of images, GIFs, or video formats often accompanied by phrases situates them within the same formats as advertising posters (Marian-Arnat 150). Through both the utilization of context of political discourse memeified into a context that pulls the viewer in the way in which a marketing scheme would, it becomes apparent that the techniques of propaganda can snake their way into the ideas of humorous content. Joshua Troy Niuebuurt classifies memes as “leaflet propaganda” in today’s digital society. Leaflets were initially used during wars in the 20th century as campaigns to spread mass propaganda, where millions of small pieces of paper were dropped from planes onto opposing soldiers and civilians as a form of psychological warfare. These papers often contained humorous, informative, or horrifying messaging as a political psyop, and their persuasion techniques consisted of four areas, and quoted in Nieuubert’s work, to persuade their target audiences, using: “ideology appeal, personal gratification appeal, communal values-focused appeal, and information dissemination (Nieuubert). Though these forms of influence were used during wars in the 20th century, this type of messaging is still very common today. 

  In the digital age, scholars Dimitrov and others in “Detecting Propaganda Techniques in Memes” have found 22 different propaganda techniques within memes that can be much more nuanced and advanced through hidden messaging and subtleties (Dimitrov et al. 6606). Many of these techniques are derivative of traditional persuasion techniques, including: 

  “8. Flag-waving: Playing on strong national feeling (or to any group; e.g., race, gender, political preference) to justify or promote an action or an idea…
  20: Glittering generalities (Virtue): These are words or symbols in the value system of the target audience that produce a positive image when attached to a person or issue…
  21. Appeal to strong emotions: Using images with strong positive/negative emotional implications to influence an audience.”
  (Dimitrov et al. 6606-07)

  The simple accessibility of memes allows the hidden persuasion of propaganda to effectively reach wide audiences. Anyone with access to social media is able to create and redistribute memes that involve persuasion techniques, which can be spread across political likeness or as a way to discriminate against opposing alignments (see Fig. 5). As Angelica Espinoza argues in “How Meme Propaganda Outmaneuvers the American Legal System and Social Media Companies”, contemporary memes are very much alike to traditional PSYOPS (psychological operations) “through their use of false amplification via digital key communicators… [using] their respective position in society to delegitimize ideas and people” (19). The social implications of memes within digital platforms allows the spread of information that aligns with the distributor’s views, even if the content is completely false or misguided. 
  
  
  The image shown above (see Fig. 5) enacts many forms of persuasion techniques as propaganda, just through the simple combination of image and text. Firstly, it places a glittering generality upon the state of Florida in this photo as well as an appeal to emotion; evoking the idea that Florida is in a superior place of power while using strong words (pedophiles, death penalty) to make the state seem righteous and just in punishment and simultaneously oversimplifying the message. Secondly, it enacts a smear against the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, by placing them within the idea that they are the ‘pedophiles’, while also using the misrepresentation of someone’s position (straw man), and casual oversimplification; this places an emphasis onto the idea that the 2SLGBTQIA+ community is the one under attack, though arguably the idea is that the government has control over civilian death (Dimitrov et al 6606). By placing it within the meme format using the satirical comedy show The Simpsons, the nature of the message becomes oversimplified and places discrimination through false narratives within a humorous context. 

  The Harmful Combination: 

  Selected algorithms of content flood a viewer’s perception with content that can significantly damage the intellectual development of the viewer. As Elijah Guevara discusses in “On Epstein, resist desensitization”, the algorithms of social media blend extremely polarized content, placing content taken amidst war and wholesome videos of animals within a scroll of each other. He writes: “allowing our algorithm to blend heavy, nauseating revelations about Epstein’s crimes with standard entertainment can desensitize us and distort our perceptions of the scandal entirely” (Guevara). While algorithms switch between jarring images that completely oppose each other, the desensitization becomes much more significant when standard entertainment and the heavy weight of reality become intertwined. This disorients the emotions of the viewer and complicates the way in which they are able to dissociate comedic effect from the horrifying reality of the situation, which inherently removes the association of equivalent emotion (disgust, sadness, anger), and delegitimizes the lived consequences of the crimes (Espinoza 22). When this desensitization has already altered the consumer’s perception of ethically acceptable actions, persuasion techniques within propaganda have an increased likelihood of penetrating the viewer’s ideologies. The manipulation tactics of propaganda have the ability to intensify their persuasion and demand more from the consumer when their moral compass has been degraded. 
  
  

  This photo (see Fig. 6) begs an extreme combination of the two harmful implications of desensitization and propaganda within memes. It depicts Sean Coombs as the Ayatollah, comparing the two between the object of oil, in this case, another regurgitation of the baby oil meme. Using Sean Coombs as a replacement for a religious leadership position smears the religion itself. It also desensitizes viewers to the acts committed by Sean Coombs through labeling him as a comedic entity with the connotations of the baby oil. 

  Conclusion: 

  Memes have evolved greatly through the rapid digitization of the social world. What once began as content solely for comedic purposes and entertainment’s sake, has now become a sub-genre of the massive meme pool. Through the constant affiliation of political and social discourse within meme culture, memes oftentimes rely on dark humour as a way of staying relevant. In the repetitive nature of dark humour, moral desensitization is becoming more frequent amongst serious, often criminal matters in a way which blurs ethical lines and weakens the sensitivity to violent acts. This is furthermore amplified by propaganda within memes that post in both derogatory and idolizing fashions. By investigating the history of the meme, it has been shown how the evolution of memetic formatting has changed greatly to reflect significant cultural news in a repetitive, ongoing manner. It has also been shown that desensitization is not a new phenomenon within memes, though it has gradually amplified throughout the excessive use of social media and higher content rates. This paper has also highlighted the way meme formatting imitates basic persuasion techniques of propaganda and the ability to effectively conceal propaganda within memes. As the combination of moral desensitization and propaganda can cause psychological damage and make the viewer easily susceptible to persuasion, it is important to remain aware and informed of the context behind memetic language.
  
  Images in this online publication are either in the public domain or are being used under fair dealing for the purpose of research and are provided solely for the purposes of research, private study, or education. 

   

  Works Cited

   

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  Dimitrov, Dimitar, et al. “Detecting Propaganda Techniques in Memes.” Proceedings of the 59th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics and the 11th International Joint Conference on Natural Language Processing (Volume 1: Long Papers), edited by Chengqing Zong et al., Association for Computational Linguistics, 2021, pp. 6603–17. ACLWeb, https://doi.org/10.18653/v1/2021.acl-long.516.

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