This is no joke: According to a job listing, President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign needs someone to manage memes.”Partner manager, content and meme pagesThe “hire” will initiate and manage day-to-day operations to include the internet’s top content and meme pages. The job pays up to $85,000.
Yes, being a professional meme manager is ridiculous. But in this age, digital organizing is just as valuable as promoting IRL at a farmers’ market. If a candidate is trying to meet voters where they are, they need to be online, where going viral can mean connecting with millions of people. This is why Biden’s campaign has a tiktok accountEven though the president signed a bill which can be done effectively ban app,
“I think we can and should incorporate relevant, trendy and fun moments into the way we communicate, especially on digital platforms.” Annie Wu HenryA creator and digital communications strategist, told TechCrunch in February. “But while we’re doing this, we have to continue to be strategic and intentional and careful, even if it is a meme.”
Even before this appointment, the Biden campaign has relied on memes to attract voters. The Dark Brandon meme, which stems from alt-right conspiracy theories about the president, has been so ubiquitous on Biden’s campaign accounts that it feels stale. But people seem to like it: Last August, Dark Brandon merch 54% of total campaign store revenueAccording to Axios.
Former President Donald Trump has also embraced memes as he campaigns for his return to the White House. When Trump’s mugshot As expected, the photo went viral, and their campaign immediately began selling T-shirts, mugs, and beer koozies with the photo, along with the words “Never Surrender.”
Biden is not the first candidate to realize that what happens online could influence the election. Social media has been a valuable tool for political organizers ever since it came into existence, but the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital strategies in campaigns. When Ed Markey (D-MA) ran for re-election to the Senate in 2020, Gen Z posters were created across the country “Marqueeverse,” An organic online movement to ensure climate-friendly senators keep their seats. Meanwhile, anonymous online personality Organizer Memes has hosted meme training for political organizations such as the South Carolina Young Democrats. In these trainings, participants collaboratively create memes, discuss what makes a good meme, and learn how to use existing meme templates to react in real time to breaking political news.
Given the possibility of the Biden administration banning TikTok, young people may understand the campaign’s effort to woo them through memes. But if nothing else, the embrace of social media is proof that the campaign is at least trying to engage younger demographics.
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