Online knowledge production in polarized political memes: The case of critical race theory

Abstract

Visual culture has long been deployed by actors across the political spectrum as a tool of political mobilization and has recently incorporated new elements such as memes, GIFs, and emojis. In this study, we analyze the top-circulated Facebook memes relating to critical race theory (CRT) posted between May 2021 and May 2022 to investigate their visual and textual appeals. Using image clustering techniques and critical discourse analysis (CDA), we find that pro- and anti-CRT memes deploy similar rhetorical tactics to make bifurcating arguments, most of which do not pertain to academic formulations of CRT. Instead, these memes manipulate definitions of racism and anti-racism to appeal to their respective audiences. We argue that labeling such discursive practices as simply a symptom of “post-truth” politics is a potentially unproductive stance. Instead, theorizing the knowledge-building practices of these memes through a lens of political epistemology allows us to better understand how they produce meaning.