DIGITAL HUMOR AND INFLUENCE: EXAMINING MEMES AS TOOLS OF POLITICAL PERSUASION AMONG GEN Z

Abstract

In today times, as the internet has boomed and consequently there has been a sharp rise in social media platforms such as Tik Tok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, memes are now viewed as a potent means of digital political communication now incorporating humor, visuals and comprehension in a more effective manner to communicate the political messengers. This Study explores how memes, that circulates on the social media, make the complex political messages simpler, increase political awareness and measures the behaviors of the Gen Z towards those memes. The leaders are usually criticized using the political memes, to express the opinion, as well as inform the political event of the day in an entertaining manner. Another way in which the use of social media has altered the way Gen Z consume the political content is the way it is explained in this study. The research methodology (quantitative research) applied in this research applies to analyzing political memes and surveying Gen Z to learn their behavior and attitudes to the said memes. The results indicate that voting memes play a prominent role in the crucial of participation, provide awareness and as well of misinformation. The mass production of the fake and inaccurate information may influence the Gen Z and support their prior ideas, as they become viral quickly. In this study, the authors indicate that political memes are highly persuasive and potentially dangerous due to the risk of misinformation and fake news due to their virality.