Twitter erupted Sunday afternoon after left-wing comedian Kathy Griffin was suspended for violating the platform&#8217;s terms of service about impersonating other people.
New Twitter CEO Elon Musk warned that moving forward, accounts would be permanently banned without warning if they attempted to impersonate other accounts.
“Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended,” Musk tweeted. “Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning.”
“This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue,” Musk continued. “Any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified checkmark.”
Griffin’s account was banned after she impersonated Musk by changing her profile photo to his photo and her user name to “Elon Musk,” even though her handle remained “@kathygriffin.”
Memes quickly flooded the internet mocking Griffin, 62, with many using her highly controversial photo shoot when she held a fake, severed head of then-President Donald Trump for the camera.
Conservative actor James Woods posted a meme to Twitter showing Musk holding Griffin&#8217;s head.
&#8220;In context maybe the greatest meme ever,&#8221; Woods tweeted.
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In context maybe the greatest meme ever… <a href="https://t.co/X5lfcmymf0">pic.twitter.com/X5lfcmymf0</a>
&mdash; James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealJamesWoods/status/1589482286520889344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Other notable memes and reactions included:
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Someone needs to photoshop this with Elon and Kathy Griffin. <a href="https://t.co/oieCTVv0ac">pic.twitter.com/oieCTVv0ac</a>
&mdash; James Morrow (@pwafork) <a href="https://twitter.com/pwafork/status/1589547466160209920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Got em! <a href="https://t.co/WBn0vYVxYb">pic.twitter.com/WBn0vYVxYb</a>
&mdash; Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1589458915301130241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I must admit, I never thought Kathy Griffin would be the cause that finally rallied the Twitter elite back to the cause of free speech. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/freekathygriffin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#freekathygriffin</a>
&mdash; David Sacks (@DavidSacks) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidSacks/status/1589483800723353602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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 <a href="https://t.co/cN4aU0Ho3b">pic.twitter.com/cN4aU0Ho3b</a>
&mdash; Mostly Peaceful Memes (@MostlyPeacefull) <a href="https://twitter.com/MostlyPeacefull/status/1589441499556896768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://t.co/KMiUPq4A8O">pic.twitter.com/KMiUPq4A8O</a>
&mdash; The Right To Bear Memes (@grandoldmemes) <a href="https://twitter.com/grandoldmemes/status/1589436724706353152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Musk responded to a Twitter account posting the news that Griffin was banned for impersonating him by first taking a swipe at her and then saying he would let her back on the platform.
“Actually, she was suspended for impersonating a comedian,” Musk tweeted. “But if she really wants her account back, she can have it.”
Musk later added that she would have to pay the $8 fee to use the new Twitter Blue.
Musk also claimed that banning accounts for impersonation does not go against his views on free speech. “My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk,” Musk tweeted.
Twitter has explicit rules prohibiting the impersonation of other people. “You may not impersonate individuals, groups, or organizations to mislead, confuse, or deceive others, nor use a fake identity in a manner that disrupts the experience of others on Twitter,” the company’s terms of service <a href="https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-impersonation-and-deceptive-identities-policy#:~:text=While%20you%20are%20not%20required,in%20order%20to%20deceive%20others.">says</a>.
The company does make exceptions for parody accounts, but the accounts have to clearly state that they are parodies.
“If we determine a profile features another’s image, we will also evaluate the context in which the image is used,” the terms of service state. “We are most likely to take action if an account falsely claims to be the entity portrayed in the profile photo, as with impersonation or fake accounts.”

Mea Culpa Live With Michael Cohen

‘Maybe The Greatest Meme Ever’: James Woods, Others Mock Kathy Griffin For Getting Banned On Twitter

James Woods, Others Mock Kathy Griffin For Getting Banned On Twitter

Celebrities

Elon Musk

James Woods

Kathy Griffin

Memes

Twitter

U.S.

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities">Chloë Grace Moretz</a> is still not over being the subject of a meme, claiming the experience has had lasting impacts on her mental health and even her Hollywood career.
The 25-year-old <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">actress</a> addressed the joke once again while speaking with <a href="https://www.etonline.com/chloe-grace-moretz-on-what-she-hopes-fans-took-away-from-her-addressing-family-guy-meme-exclusive">Entertainment Tonight</a> during a red-carpet appearance this week. 
“I think the big thing is that compassion is a really key thing in humanity and just being kind with the words that you say with one another, the things you say online,” she said at the premiere of her Amazon sci-fi series “The Peripheral.”
“I think compassion is key and I hope that the world can have a little bit more of that.”
Moretz is still affected by a photoshopped image of her that went viral. It shows the actress wearing shorts and carrying a pizza, but someone altered the original to shorten Moretz’s torso and lengthen her legs. This drew comparisons to a “Family Guy” character named Legs Go All The Way Up Griffin from the episode “Amish Guy.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Chloë Grace Moretz: I suffered body dysmorphia after &#39;Family Guy&#39; meme <a href="https://t.co/R2C5p1nPrC">https://t.co/R2C5p1nPrC</a> <a href="https://t.co/4y2ouM2L72">pic.twitter.com/4y2ouM2L72</a>
&mdash; New York Post (@nypost) <a href="https://twitter.com/nypost/status/1575221574009065473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The “Kick Ass” star previously revealed how the meme emotionally scarred her during an <a href="https://www.hungertv.com/editorial/chloe-grace-moretz-on-fame-and-social-media-i-basically-became-a-recluse/">interview</a> with Hunger magazine in September.
“I’ve actually never really talked about this, but there was one meme that really affected me, of me walking into a hotel with a pizza box in my hand. And this photo got manipulated into a character from Family Guy with the long legs and the short torso, and it was one of the most widespread memes at the time,” she recalled.
“Everyone was making fun of my body and I brought it up with someone and they were like, ‘Oh, shut the f*** up, it’s funny.’ And I just remember sitting there and thinking, my body is being used as a joke and it’s something that I can’t change about who I am, and it is being posted all over Instagram.”
Moretz said that even now, seeing the meme is “very hard for me to overcome” and that she “became a recluse” and had anxiety over getting photographed after that happened.

The Museum Of Modern Art Film Benefit Presented By CHANEL: A Tribute To Martin Scorsese – Arrivals

‘Compassion Is Key’: Actress Still Upset About ‘Family Guy’ Meme She Says Caused Anxiety, Body Dysmorphia

Actress Still Upset About 'Family Guy' Meme She Says Caused Anxiety, Body Dysmorphia

Entertainment

Family Guy

Hollywood

Dr. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mehmet-oz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mehmet Oz&#8217;s</a> Senate campaign fired back at Democratic nominee John Fetterman for criticizing his &#8220;crudité&#8221; gaffe.
Fetterman has been criticizing Oz in recent days after he resurfaced a social media video of the Republican candidate complaining about inflation at a grocery store. The video, in which Oz appears to confuse the name of a popular Pennsylvania grocery store chain, has led to social media users mocking Oz as out-of-touch. But on Monday, the Oz campaign fired back fiercely at Fetterman, including a reference to the stroke he suffered in May that has kept him mostly off the campaign trail.
&#8220;If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn&#8217;t have had a major stroke and wouldn&#8217;t be in the position of having to lie about it constantly,&#8221; Oz campaign Senior Communications Adviser Rachel Tripp told <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oz-on-fetterman-if-hed-eaten-vegetable-wouldnt-have-stroke-2022-8">Business Insider</a> Tuesday.
Dr. Oz originally posted the <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@dr_oz/video/7084047614848552234?is_copy_url=1&amp;is_from_webapp=v1&amp;lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> to his official TikTok account in April. In the video, Oz is grocery shopping at Redner&#8217;s, a popular grocery store chain in southeastern Pennsylvania, making note of the high costs of vegetables in the produce section. “Thought I’d do some grocery shopping. I’m at Wegners, and my wife wants some vegetables for a crudité,” Oz says, apparently confusing Redner&#8217;s with Wegman&#8217;s, another grocery store chain with locations throughout the mid-Atlantic, including Pennsylvania.
Fetterman <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnFetterman/status/1559207673698127872?s=20&amp;t=aQNf5cdB8lgiTDVq52KWYA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> the video last week, mocking Oz for using the French word &#8220;crudité&#8221; instead of the more colloquial term &#8220;veggie tray.&#8221; Oz defended his word choice in an interview with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7yFLY5iCYs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox Business</a> Tuesday. &#8220;Whether I pick words that are not conventional ones are irrelevant to the bigger challenges that we&#8217;re facing in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania,&#8221; Oz said.
For his part, Fetterman actually lost over 140 pounds, going from weighing 418 pounds to just over 270, between 2017 and 2018, by altering his dietary habits and walking several miles a day, <a href="https://archive.triblive.com/news/health-now/john-fetterman-adopts-new-way-of-eating-drops-148-pounds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TribLive.com</a> reported.
The Pennsylvania Senate campaign has devolved into a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pennsylvanias-senate-campaign-degrades-to-a-meme-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meme war</a>, with the two candidates firing volleys at each other on Twitter and over the airwaves in TV advertisements, as The Daily Wire&#8217;s Ben Zeisloft reported earlier this month.
Fetterman has done much of his campaigning over social media and TV, focusing on the fact that until recently, Oz&#8217;s primary residence was his home in New Jersey. Fetterman made his first public appearance since suffering a stroke at a rally in Erie on August 12; he gave an 11-minute speech, in which he <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1559000551576244226" target="_blank" rel="noopener">repeatedly stopped</a> abruptly before continuing. Fetterman gave another speech at a rally in Pittsburgh Tuesday; the speech reportedly lasted for less than five minutes, and Fetterman again <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1562181700305788928" target="_blank" rel="noopener">struggled</a> through his remarks.
Oz has also taken to social media and the airwaves to criticize Fetterman over reports that he received a five-figure <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pennsylvania-senate-nominee-fettermans-parents-gave-him-allowance-as-high-as-five-figures-well-into-his-40s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allowance</a> from his parents until he was in his 40s; Oz has also repeatedly and vigorously criticized Fetterman&#8217;s absence from the public eye, including his refusal to agree to televised <a href="https://twitter.com/DrOz/status/1562131927813001217?s=20&amp;t=XfsHk-7H_nbT1sEkWmtYmQ">debates</a> against him. Meanwhile, Oz has been very active on the <a href="https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/insight/2022/08/14/mehmet-oz-pennsylvania-senate-campaign/stories/202208140031" target="_blank" rel="noopener">campaign trail</a>, attending multiple campaign events a day all across Pennsylvania.
According to the most recent polling, Oz trails, but is within striking distance of Fetterman. A poll of more than 1,000 likely general election voters, conducted by <a href="https://www.thetrafalgargroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/TRF-PA-General-0820-Poll-Report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Trafalgar Group</a>, found that Fetterman leads Oz by less than five points, 48.4% to 43.5%

Republican Senate Candidate Dr. Oz Holds Election Night Party In Pennsylvania

Dr. Oz Campaign Issues Fierce Rebuke Of Fetterman Over ‘Crudité’ Gaffe

Dr. Oz Campaign Issues Fierce Rebuke Of Fetterman Over 'Crudité' Gaffe

2022 Midterms

Dr. Oz

Pennsylvania

U.S. Senate

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/colleges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">student</a> at the University of Southern California reportedly earned $110 million on Tuesday by selling his <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/stock-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shares</a> in Bed Bath &amp; Beyond at the height of a <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/memes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meme</a> stock craze.
The stock price of Bed Bath &amp; Beyond <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bed-bath-beyond-stock-soars-300-wall-street-loses-millions-thanks-to-meme-traders">soared</a> from $4.96 to $27.21 between July 18 and noon on August 16, reflecting a nearly 449% increase in less than a month as traders on social media coordinated to buy shares. Before the price began to decrease, Jake Freeman — an applied mathematics and economics major — dumped the entirety of his stake, netting $110 million.
“The significant appreciation of BBBY&#8217;s share price combined with the fact that I am leaving for school tomorrow played critical roles in closing the Position,” he wrote on <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/BBBY/comments/wq4lu1/an_ode_to_bbby/">Reddit</a>.
Freeman purchased 5 million shares at $5.50 each last month using $25 million he raised from friends and family, according to <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/08/18/jake-freeman-usc-student-netted-110-million-dollars-in-bed-bath-beyond-stock-dump/">Fortune</a>, earning himself a 6.2% passive stake in the company. He made the purchase after a dismal first-quarter report showing the home goods retailer’s sales had plunged 25%, even as the company maintained $3.3 billion in debt and a mere $107 million in cash on its balance sheet.
“I feel that my acquisition of the Position was a watershed moment for BBBY, and I hope that in one form or another BBBY is able to capitalize off of this increased price to realign their balance sheet and operate for decades to come,” he added on Reddit. “I am truly going to miss being able to say ‘I am the second largest non-institutional shareholder of Bed Bath &amp; Beyond,’ but I am certainly going to be shopping at BBBY tomorrow.”
Freeman celebrated his successful investment by going out to eat with his parents in the New York City suburb where they live. “I certainly did not expect such a vicious rally upwards,” Freeman said in an interview with <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/1b21bb08-6590-49c6-8baa-5ad8c527fbcc">Financial Times</a>. “I thought this was going to be a six-months-plus play &#8230; I was really shocked that it went up so fast.”
While Freeman emerged victorious from the Bed Bath &amp; Beyond fiasco, many institutional investors endured heavy paper losses. Investors with short positions lost $662 million on paper over the past month, including a $218 million hit on Tuesday, data analytics firm S3 Partners told <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-16/bed-bath-beyond-s-510-surge-defies-wall-street-naysayers">Bloomberg</a>. Short sellers effectively <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xszj1flDxl0">bet against</a> companies by borrowing shares, selling them on the stock market, and buying back the shares at a later date to return to the original owners — a strategy that results in a profit if the stock price declines.
The surge in Bed Bath &amp; Beyond stock occurs over a year after traders coordinating their efforts online agreed to purchase stock in GameStop and AMC, as well as cryptocurrencies such as Dogecoin. Investors shorting GameStop <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bloodbath-hedge-fund-short-sale-losses-top-1-billion-following-gamestop-stock-surge">marked</a> losses of over $70 billion, with hedge fund Melvin Capital losing 53% of its value in the wake of the meme trading surge.
Celebrity business magnates, including Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, publicly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-4-business-moguls-cheering-for-the-little-guys-in-the-gamestop-fiasco">lauded</a> the meme trading. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk likewise told traders to give “no respect” to “shorty apologists.”
“Old days where a hedge fund manager could quietly short a stock, then publish negative research and take a bullhorn to it in the media are over,” Canadian entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary said of the trend last year. “They now run the risk that the power of the crowd will turn on them and squeeze their heads like a teenage pimple.”

Bed Bath & Beyond

College Student Walks Away With $110 Million After Latest Meme Stock Craze

College Student Earns $110 Million In Latest Meme Stock Craze

Money

Stock Market

Shares of Bed Bath &amp; Beyond have soared as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/memes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meme </a><a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/stock-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stock</a> traders seek to pressure investors betting against the home goods retailer.
The stock price of Bed Bath &amp; Beyond increased from $4.96 to $19.49 between July 18 and August 16, reflecting a nearly 300% increase in less than a month. Shares rose over 21% on Tuesday alone.
The surge in price is bad news for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xszj1flDxl0">short sellers</a>, who are effectively betting against the company by borrowing shares, selling them on the stock market, and returning the shares to the original owners at a later date — a strategy that results in a profit if the stock price declines. Investors with short positions lost $662 million on paper over the past month, including a $218 million hit on Tuesday, data analytics firm S3 Partners told <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-16/bed-bath-beyond-s-510-surge-defies-wall-street-naysayers">Bloomberg</a>.
Meme stocks GameStop and AMC Entertainment also rose Tuesday, with the former rising 6.2% and the latter rising 1.6%. Indeed, the surge in Bed Bath &amp; Beyond stock occurs over a year after traders communicating via online social networks collectively agreed to purchase stock in GameStop and AMC, as well as cryptocurrencies such as Dogecoin. Investors shorting GameStop <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bloodbath-hedge-fund-short-sale-losses-top-1-billion-following-gamestop-stock-surge">marked</a> losses over $70 billion, with hedge fund Melvin Capital losing 53% of its value in the wake of the meme trading surge.
Business magnates — including Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban — publicly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-4-business-moguls-cheering-for-the-little-guys-in-the-gamestop-fiasco">endorsed</a> the meme trading. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk likewise told traders to give “no respect” to “shorty apologists.”
“Old days where a hedge fund manager could quietly short a stock, then publish negative research and take a bullhorn to it in the media are over,” Canadian entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary said of the meme stock trend last year. “They now run the risk that the power of the crowd will turn on them and squeeze their heads like a teenage pimple.”
Some lawmakers, however, were not impressed. In a <a href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/new-this-am-warren-calls-on-the-sec-to-address-stock-market-gamesmanship-amid-volatile-gamestop-trades">letter</a> to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) argued that the agency ought to regulate meme stock trading.
&#8220;The Commission must review recent market activity affecting GameStop and other companies, and act to ensure that markets reflect real value, rather than the highly leveraged bets of wealthy traders or those who seek to inflict financial damage on those traders,&#8221; Warren wrote. &#8220;To protect and restore public trust in sound securities regulation and enforcement, the Commission must identify gaps in existing securities laws and rules and ways in which the Commission can improve its enforcement capabilities.&#8221;
Nevertheless, a <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/staff-report-equity-options-market-struction-conditions-early-2021.pdf">staff report</a> published months later by the SEC generally rejected calls to regulate meme stocks. “Underneath the memes are actual companies, with employees, customers, and plans to invest in the future. Those who bought GameStop became co-owners of a company through a system of mutual trust and participation that sustains our economy,” the report explained. “People may disagree about the prospects of GameStop and the other meme stocks, but those disagreements are what should lead to price discovery rather than disruptions.”
More broadly, the stock market has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bloodbath-on-wall-street-as-stock-market-plunges-into-bear-territory">declined</a> over 10% since the beginning of 2022 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, rising inflation, and persistent supply chain issues.

Bed Bath & Beyond Stock Soars 300%, Wall Street Loses Millions Thanks To Meme Traders

Meme Stock Traders Latch Onto A New Target

Economy

Tesla and SpaceX CEO <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a> poked <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/memes">fun</a> at his fellow Americans on Thursday for allowing the Internal Revenue Service (<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/irs">IRS</a>) to more than double in size.
Musk posted a meme depicting a laughing British redcoat, along with the caption: “when the country that revolted over taxes hires 87,000 new IRS agents.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Fate 🖤 Irony <a href="https://t.co/RHZ9BEws7k">pic.twitter.com/RHZ9BEws7k</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1557759290219171841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk, a South African who lived in Canada before becoming an American citizen, told a user that he already gets “audited every year by default.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
True. I already get audited every year by default.
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1557761535979638784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Indeed, top Biden administration officials — including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig — have argued that the 87,000 new employees, who will be hired through an $80 billion carveout from the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act, will focus primarily upon wealthy Americans. The IRS employed nearly 79,000 full-time employees as of fiscal year 2021, according to the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/statistics/irs-budget-and-workforce">agency</a>, which also reported $13.7 billion in operating costs.
“I direct that any additional resources — including any new personnel or auditors that are hired — shall not be used to increase the share of small business or households below the $400,000 threshold that are audited relative to historical levels,” Yellen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/janet-yellen-vows-irs-audits-wont-rise-for-middle-income-americans-but-theres-a-catch">told</a> Rettig in a Wednesday letter. “This means that, contrary to the misinformation from opponents of this legislation, small business or households earning $400,000 per year or less will not see an increase in the chances that they are audited.”
Yellen did not mention, however, that “historical levels” of audits were significantly higher as recently as one decade ago. According to a report from the <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-104960.pdf">Government Accountability Office</a>, audit rates for Americans earning between $25,000 to $200,000 fell 76% between 2010 and 2019, while those earning less than $25,000 saw audit rates fall by 61%. Taxpayers earning between $200,000 and $500,000 — representing those at the upper end of the Biden administration’s vow to not raise taxes for those earning less than $400,000 — saw a 92% decline in audits.
The report added that IRS officials “attributed the overall decline in audit rates to decreased funding, and therefore reduced staffing to conduct audits” — constraints which are directly addressed by the Inflation Reduction Act. The agency’s job <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/guns-body-armor-spy-gear-heres-what-bidens-beefed-up-irs-investigation-unit-will-pack">description</a> for new agents says that employees must “carry a firearm and be willing to use deadly force, if necessary.”
Yet Rettig vowed that his agency will “absolutely not” use its new employees to target middle-class Americans and small businesses. Instead, he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/irs-we-will-absolutely-not-target-everyday-americans-with-new-army-of-agents">promised</a> that the new funding will create better information technology systems that will help Americans more easily comply with tax laws.
For his part, Musk has repeatedly warned about the dangers of unsustainable fiscal habits. “True national debt, including unfunded entitlements, is at least $60 trillion — roughly three times the size of the entire US economy,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/something-has-got-to-give-elon-musk-issues-dire-warning-about-national-debt">commented</a> on social media earlier this year. “Something has got to give.”
Even as several left-wing lawmakers — such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) — accused Musk of “freeloading off everyone else” and failing to pay his “fair share,” the entrepreneur <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pramila-jayapal-reacts-to-elon-musk-paying-11-billion-in-taxes-by-asking-rich-to-pay-their-fair-share">revealed</a> that he paid $11 billion in taxes last year.
“And if you opened your eyes for 2 seconds, you would realize I will pay more taxes than any American in history this year,” Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-will-pay-more-taxes-than-any-american-in-history-this-year-elon-musk-obliterates-elizabeth-warren-with-one-tweet">retorted</a>. “Don’t spend it all at once … oh wait you did already.”

Tesla Gigafactory – Elon Musk

Elon Musk Weighs In On IRS Preparing To Hire Army Of Agents

Elon Musk Is Not Thrilled With IRS' New Army Of Agents

Biden Administration

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Taxes

The next candidate <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/pennsylvania">Pennsylvania</a> sends to the Senate may be the one who can prove himself quickest on the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/memes">memes</a>.
Lt. Governor John Fetterman, the commonwealth’s Democratic <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/2022-midterms">nominee</a> for the Senate campaigning against Republican rival <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/dr-oz">Dr. Mehmet Oz</a>, was hospitalized on May 13 — days before the primary election — and has been recovering in the wake of receiving a pacemaker-defibrillator. Though he was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hell-be-fine-pa-democratic-senate-nominee-cleared-by-doctor-to-campaign-after-suffering-a-stroke-days-before-primary">cleared</a> by his cardiologist to campaign in the midterm elections, Fetterman made no significant <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pennsylvania-democrat-john-fetterman-to-end-absence-from-campaign-trail-two-months-after-stroke">public appearances</a> until the end of last month.
Fetterman has instead focused on various social media trolling campaigns against Oz, most of which draw attention to the celebrity cardiologist’s longtime residence in New Jersey — for example, by posting a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/15/entertainment/snooki-cameo-dr-oz-john-fetterman-cec/index.html">cameo</a> from Snooki, a personality from the reality show “Jersey Shore,” and attempting to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-fetterman-petition-dr-oz-new-jersey-hall-of-fame-2022-7">induct</a> Oz into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
The memes, however, have been slung in the other direction as well. Following a report indicating that Fetterman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pennsylvania-senate-nominee-fettermans-parents-gave-him-allowance-as-high-as-five-figures-well-into-his-40s">received</a> five-figure allowances from his parents during his tenure as the mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, the Oz campaign launched a <a href="https://fraudsterfetterman.com/">promotional website</a> called “Basement Bum Fetterman” — complete with an image depicting the candidate as shirtless and overweight, as well as a clarification that the page was “Not Paid For By John Fetterman’s Daddy.”
Pennsylvania’s voters, according to polls, appear to be favoring Fetterman thus far, with <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/senate/2022/pennsylvania/">FiveThirtyEight</a> showing the Democrat with a 10.8% lead as of August 4. One recent SurveyMonkey <a href="https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania-senate-race/pennsylvania-senate-race-fetterman-leads-oz-in-new-poll/">poll</a> indicated that Fetterman and Oz respectively have 19% and 38% unfavorability ratings, with Fetterman receiving 17% of his support from voters who favored former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
The national political equation may be working against Fetterman. One USA Today Network and Suffolk University <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/early-midterm-poll-has-dire-news-for-pennsylvania-republicans">poll</a> showed in June that Pennsylvanians disapprove of President Joe Biden by a 54% to 39% margin, with more than half of the electorate saying that they “want their vote in November to change the direction in which Biden is leading the nation.”
“Voters say they are unhappy with the economy in Pennsylvania and President Biden’s job approval, yet these particular Democrats are threading the needle thus far,” according to Suffolk University Political Research Center Director David Paleologos.
Likewise, 48% of Pennsylvanians said that their standard of living is worse, while 17% said it is better — a significant reversal from 31% reporting better conditions and 17% reporting worse in 2018. In Pennsylvania, gasoline costs an average of $4.34 per gallon, according to <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/">AAA</a>. When President Biden took office, the national average cost of gas was $2.39 per gallon.
Overall, Fetterman is “slightly favored” to win the election, with FiveThirtyEight’s <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2022-election-forecast/senate/pennsylvania/">predictive model</a> giving the candidate 67% odds.
Fetterman gave his first media interview since May to the <a href="https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2022/07/20/john-fetterman-health-update-stroke-condition-us-senate-campaign-democratic-candidate-dr-mehmet-oz/stories/202207200082">Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</a> last month — emphasizing that although he may “miss a word” or “slur two together” from time to time, he’s “feeling really good” and has “nothing to hide.”
“I would never be in this if we were not absolutely, 100% able to run fully and to win — and we believe that we are,” Fetterman said.
Both candidates are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oz-fetterman-fill-their-war-chests-for-key-senate-race">filling their war chests</a> for one of the nation’s most contentious midterm races. Oz has raised more than $19 million between March 17, 2021, and June 30, 2022, according to <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S2PA00638/?tab=raising#total-receipts">filings</a> with the U.S. Federal Elections Commission. Fetterman has meanwhile raised $11 million between April and June.

Lieutenant Governor & Democratic Senate Candidate John Fetterman Holds Campaign Event

Pennsylvania’s Senate Campaign Degrades To A Meme War

Fetterman And Oz Battle It Out On Social Media

2022 Election

Google Maps users trolled <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a> by turning the site of his infamous fall from a bicycle into a landmark.
@OldRowViral, A Twitter account that posts viral videos and memes aimed at a conservative audience, posted a tweet Monday afternoon showing a Google Maps landmark called &#8220;Brandon [F]alls.&#8221; The landmark, located at Gordon&#8217;s Pond State Park in Lewes, Delaware, is at the crossing where Biden fell while riding his bike in June. The name refers to the &#8220;Let&#8217;s Go Brandon&#8221; chant, often used to mock Biden.
&#8220;We did it Joe! Brandon Falls is officially a historical landmark 😂 #bidenin[g],&#8221; @OldRowViral tweeted on Monday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We did it Joe! Brandon Falls is officially a historical landmark 😂 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bidenin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bidenin</a> <a href="https://t.co/GUCYdis3MA">https://t.co/GUCYdis3MA</a> <a href="https://t.co/z8gUvvhFCq">pic.twitter.com/z8gUvvhFCq</a>
&mdash; Old Row (@OldRowViral) <a href="https://twitter.com/OldRowViral/status/1549075574643105795?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a href="https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/07/19/biden-brandon-falls/">Snopes</a> noted Tuesday that Google Maps allows user to create their own public landmarks, meaning the site was created by a user to troll Biden.
The <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/brandon-falls-delaware-landmark-named-biden-bike-fall">Washington Examiner</a> noted that as of Tuesday morning, the landmark had a 4.9-star rating on Google Maps, from more than 200 reviews. “Very nice place to ride a bike,” one of the reviews reads, via Washington Examiner. “Just be careful not to cause too much inflation in your tires or you can end up crashing your whole bike into the ground. But if that happens, just blame Putin. People will ‘fall’ for it!”
“Road was too bumpy, and reminded me of the problems we still face for two more years,&#8221; read another.
As of the publishing of this piece, however, the landmark appears to have been taken down by Google. The location &#8220;Brandon falls, Road 300, Lewes, DE,&#8221; still appears as a recommended search, but the search redirects to a house in a nearby neighborhood.
The Google Maps landmark is just the latest move by internet jokesters and meme-makers to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-roasted-after-falling-off-bicycle-a-perfect-metaphor-for-the-current-state-of-our-country">troll Biden</a> after he fell off his bike in June. Twitter user @Brick_Suit <a href="https://twitter.com/Brick_Suit/status/1545191671838584832">posted</a> a photo to Twitter on July 7 of the bike crossing at Gordon&#8217;s Pond State Park, where someone had written &#8220;Joe Fell Here&#8221; in chalk on the spot where Biden had his fall.
Old Row, a clothing and apparel brand associated with the @OldRowViral Twitter account, is currently selling <a href="https://shop.oldrow.net/products/joe-fell-here-tee?variant=39834978484337">tee shirts</a> with the photo emblazoned on the front. The @OldRowViral also started the hashtag &#8220;#bidening,&#8221; which consists of people posting pictures and videos of themselves falling off their bikes. The account also posted a thread with pictures and videos of people lying down or purposely falling off their bikes at the Gordon&#8217;s Pond bike path.
Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-falls-while-standing-partially-on-ground-after-stopping-bicycle">fell off his bicycle</a> on June 18 while at his home in Rehoboth Beach. While out on a ride with his family at Gordon&#8217;s Pond, Biden crossed the street to talk to a group of people, stopped the bike, put his left foot down, then suddenly fell down. Secret Service agents quickly helped him up to his feet. At the time, Biden said he was &#8220;good,&#8221; and that he had simply gotten his foot caught in the foot cage on one of his bike pedals. A White House spokesman later confirmed that Biden was alright. &#8220;As the President said, his foot got caught on the pedal while dismounting and he is fine,&#8221; the spokesman said at the time, via <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/18/politics/biden-falls-riding-bike/index.html">CNN</a>. &#8220;No medical attention is needed. The President looks forward to spending the rest of the day with his family.&#8221;

Biden falls off bike

Google Maps Users Troll Biden With Mocking Landmark Where He Fell Off Bike

Google Maps Users Troll Biden, Create Landmark At The Spot Where He Fell Off His Bike

Delaware

Google

Joe Biden

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a> used a meme to troll <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/twitter">Twitter</a> over the weekend in response to his upcoming legal battle with the social media platform over his decision to withdraw from his $44 billion purchase of the company.
Musk&#8217;s move late last week came in response to the company allegedly withholding information about how many spam accounts are on the platform.
&#8220;They said I couldn&#8217;t buy Twitter,&#8221; the meme begins. &#8220;Then they wouldn&#8217;t disclose bot info.&#8221;
&#8220;Now they want to force me to buy Twitter in court,&#8221; the meme continues. &#8220;Now they have to disclose bot info in court.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://t.co/JcLMee61wj">pic.twitter.com/JcLMee61wj</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1546344529460174849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk&#8217;s legal team sent a letter to Twitter Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde on Friday that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-elon-musk-blows-up-twitter-deal">stated</a> Musk was terminating the purchase because &#8220;Twitter is in material breach of multiple provisions of that Agreement, appears to have made false and misleading representations upon which Mr. Musk relied when entering into the Merger Agreement, and is likely to suffer a Company Material Adverse Effect.&#8221;
The chair of Twitter’s board, Bret Taylor, responded to the move from Musk on Friday evening by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/twitter-strikes-back-will-sue-elon-musk-for-walking-away">writing</a>: “The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.”
Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/twitter-ceo-makes-eyebrow-raising-remark-as-employees-panic-over-potential-musk-takeover-report">said</a> back in April that he wanted to buy the platform because his &#8220;strong intuitive sense is that having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization.&#8221;
Regarding the financial aspect of acquiring the company, Musk said, “I don’t care about the economics at all.”
Musk further <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/elon-musk-vows-to-defeat-the-spam-bots-or-die-trying-if-twitter-bid-succeeds">noted</a> that one of his top priorities at Twitter would be &#8220;eliminating the spam and scam bots and the bot armies&#8221; on the platform.
“It’s important to the function of democracy, it’s important to the function of the United States as a free country and many other countries, and to help freedom in the world more broadly than in the U.S.,” Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/musk-reveals-during-ted-talk-that-there-is-a-plan-b-if-twitter-rejects-his-offer-to-buy-the-company">said</a>. “Civilizational risk is decreased the more we can increase the trust of Twitter as a public platform, and so I do think this will be somewhat painful.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-repeatedly-struggles-while-delivering-remarks-elon-musk-torches-him">Biden Repeatedly Struggles While Delivering Remarks, Elon Musk Torches Him</a>

Elon Musk Visits Germany

Musk Responds To Twitter Legal Battle By Trolling The Company With A Meme

Elon Musk mocked a gamer publication on Memorial Day for trying troll him after the publication accused him of not giving them proper credit for their content.
The publication, Hard Drive, claimed that Musk had cropped their name off one of their articles and posted it to social media.
&#8220;Well, if you make something that looks like a meme &amp; someone (not me) crops off your name, so it goes,&#8221; Musk responded. &#8220;Also, this is only a 6/10 meme, so maybe step down from that high horse! The selfless art of anonymous meme creators is something to be admired.&#8221;
Musk later deleted the tweet that the publication called him out over.
The publication later posted a link to one of their articles and asked Musk to let them know what he thought of it.
The article was titled, &#8220;Elon Musk Admits He Wants to Travel to Mars Because No One Hates Him There Yet&#8221;.
Musk responded, &#8220;Less funny than SNL on a bad day. This could make a drunk person sober. Try harder!&#8221;
&#8220;The reason you’re not that funny is because you’re woke,&#8221; Musk continued. &#8220;Humor relies on an intuitive &amp; often awkward truth being recognized by the audience, but wokism is a lie, which is why nobody laughs.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The reason you’re not that funny is because you’re woke. 
Humor relies on an intuitive &amp; often awkward truth being recognized by the audience, but wokism is a lie, which is why nobody laughs.
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1531337185894465538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk has repeatedly slammed wokeism for a variety of reasons, including the negative impact that it has had on the world of comedy.
Musk took aim at The Onion <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/musk-torches-wokeness-one-of-the-biggest-threats-to-modern-civilization-is-divisive-hateful">during an interview</a> last year for becoming “really politically correct” and for not making fun of “anything on the Left.”
“It used to be much more even-handed, The Onion, and then they just got the woke mind virus to the point where … it used to be very funny and then it was not that funny,” Musk said. “You know, SNL, I used to be a huge fan of SNL. … many, many, many, if not, most of the SNL episodes are kind of a moral lecture on why we’re bad human beings, instead of comedy. So, and again, won’t make fun of anything on the Left, really, like, you know, they’ll beat up on Ted Cruz 17,000 times and you’re like, ‘OK, we get it.’”
“So it’s, it’s just, there’re just a lot of no fly zones with a lot of comedy,” Musk said. “And then you realize, it’s like, wait a second, is the comedy getting at an essential truth or trying — is there a propaganda element? Or is it trying to push you in a particular direction? Or getting to an essential truth that is humorous? And when it stops trying to get to an essential truth that is humorous, then, you know, it’s just not that funny.”

The 2022 Met Gala Celebrating “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” – Arrivals

Musk Torches Gamer Publication For Trying To Mock Him, Explains Why Wokeism Is Not Funny

Elon Musk Torches Gamer Publication For Trying To Mock Him

Saturday Night Live

While many focused on Inauguration Day for its political implications, seeing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as the center of attention, someone else stole the show. 
Sen. Bernie Sanders rose as Inauguration Day’s standout star, whose cross-legged seated stance in coat and mittens instantly became an internet meme, triggering a wave of reproductions and parodies. Here are just some of the highlights.
Friends
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
One of the best? <a href="https://t.co/cTkB9WHwXw">pic.twitter.com/cTkB9WHwXw</a>
&mdash; Ian G Haworth (@ighaworth) <a href="https://twitter.com/ighaworth/status/1352382755967913984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Big Bang Theory
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BernieSanders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BernieSanders</a> &quot;You&#39;re in my spot&quot; <a href="https://t.co/fSi0s9hVoh">pic.twitter.com/fSi0s9hVoh</a>
&mdash; Gianluca (@GianlucaHS) <a href="https://twitter.com/GianlucaHS/status/1352235276689674240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Bachelor’s meme within a meme
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Whoever made this one is genius. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BernieSanders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BernieSanders</a> <a href="https://t.co/k26AKbqvkS">pic.twitter.com/k26AKbqvkS</a>
&mdash; Berni (@ScentsbyBerni) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScentsbyBerni/status/1352121581556916225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Historic NYC Skyscraper
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Why do y’all play so much? Get Bernie down from there 😂 <a href="https://t.co/9ik2VMSoGN">pic.twitter.com/9ik2VMSoGN</a>
&mdash; 👑🖤 (@iwrightmusic) <a href="https://twitter.com/iwrightmusic/status/1352010631671500800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Guy Fieri
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Not me. Us. <a href="https://t.co/ec7XgfEl7b">pic.twitter.com/ec7XgfEl7b</a>
&mdash; Guy Fieri (@GuyFieri) <a href="https://twitter.com/GuyFieri/status/1352319386007330817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Sex And The City
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The new Samantha!!!! <a href="https://t.co/jF0pTV20qo">pic.twitter.com/jF0pTV20qo</a>
&mdash; Matthew Wilkas (@MattWilkas) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWilkas/status/1352136178863140865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Forrest Gump
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Has this been done yet?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bernie?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bernie</a> <a href="https://t.co/embv3a1iWM">pic.twitter.com/embv3a1iWM</a>
&mdash; #onpoli #cdnpoli (@MarcInTheCity) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarcInTheCity/status/1352115126711832576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Ben Roethlisberger
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
 <a href="https://t.co/XshMZPAFIN">pic.twitter.com/XshMZPAFIN</a>
&mdash; Beth Hartzell (@betHartz84) <a href="https://twitter.com/betHartz84/status/1352125412319649792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Last Supper
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Some of my best work honestly <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BernieSanders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BernieSanders</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheLastSupper?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheLastSupper</a> <a href="https://t.co/T289rAQfUN">pic.twitter.com/T289rAQfUN</a>
&mdash; chelsea (@chelsealeite) <a href="https://twitter.com/chelsealeite/status/1352017967450611712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Ru Paul’s Drag Race
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
And this weeks ✨Extra✨ special guest judge! <a href="https://t.co/tg0Af8FR0S">pic.twitter.com/tg0Af8FR0S</a>
&mdash; Katrina Waters (@MsKatrinaWaters) <a href="https://twitter.com/MsKatrinaWaters/status/1352059228521902081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Bird Box
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Bern Box<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BernieSanders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BernieSanders</a> <a href="https://t.co/cRppsNLxJX">pic.twitter.com/cRppsNLxJX</a>
&mdash; Wirjil (@Wirjil) <a href="https://twitter.com/Wirjil/status/1352139570335408130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Ancient Rome
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BernieSanders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BernieSanders</a> took me a minute to find him 😂😂 <a href="https://t.co/xRCkXz8drb">pic.twitter.com/xRCkXz8drb</a>
&mdash; Megan ⚓️ (@Megan0903) <a href="https://twitter.com/Megan0903/status/1352311952480022528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Friday
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Did anybody do this one yet? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BernieSanders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BernieSanders</a> <a href="https://t.co/OfxeGCB58a">pic.twitter.com/OfxeGCB58a</a>
&mdash; EROCK (@Eric_Emanuele) <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Emanuele/status/1352239734140137479?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Golden Girls
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Too funny ❤️ ❤️❤️<a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BernieSanders</a>. I can’t stop 🤣🤣🤣🤣. My stomach hurts! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BernieSanders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BernieSanders</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/berniesmittens?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#berniesmittens</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/reactiontheory?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#reactiontheory</a> <a href="https://t.co/upbZxHoXrY">pic.twitter.com/upbZxHoXrY</a>
&mdash; Reaction Theory (@ReactionTheory1) <a href="https://twitter.com/ReactionTheory1/status/1352094261844520960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
And the memes kept on coming&#8230;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Can&#39;t stop won&#39;t stop. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BernieSanders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BernieSanders</a> <a href="https://t.co/l6ZW808v3X">pic.twitter.com/l6ZW808v3X</a>
&mdash; Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) <a href="https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1352121959291760641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
some album covers with cold Bernie <a href="https://t.co/teg6TWBdXV">pic.twitter.com/teg6TWBdXV</a>
&mdash; Pigeons &amp; Planes (@PigsAndPlans) <a href="https://twitter.com/PigsAndPlans/status/1351957880958758912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The best Bernie memes I saw <a href="https://t.co/mwq6stLV7Z">pic.twitter.com/mwq6stLV7Z</a>
&mdash; David Leavitt (@David_Leavitt) <a href="https://twitter.com/David_Leavitt/status/1352054800939151362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/ighaworth">@ighaworth</a>.

Bernie Sanders Meme

Bernie Inauguration Meme Steals The Show: Here Are Some Of The Best

Bernie Sanders

Inauguration

Readers Pass

If you want insight into our culture, pay attention to memes. No kidding: talk of memes has become a thing in the digital era, but “mimetic” behavior isn’t a digital phenomenon: it’s a human one. When people say “and I oop” or repeat the same dance over and over on TikTok, they’re doing more than just messing around. They’re living out one of the most basic human impulses. If the Right is going to win on this front, we have to understand memes.
How Memes Work
The word “meme” itself comes from an ancient Greek concept: mimēsis. It means “imitation,” and a mimēma, or “something that is imitated,” is a meme. This is what the philosophers Plato and Aristotle thought lay behind all artistic production and culture-making. “The instinct of imitation is implanted in man from childhood,” writes Aristotle in his Poetics, and he goes on to explain how basic kinds of imitation like games and lessons develop into elaborate forms of imitation like theatre.
This fundamental truth has been at the heart of how we understand art and society in the West. From the poet <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69375/the-defence-of-poesy" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69375/the-defence-of-poesy&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607630007258000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFUYNKeBqNPQqepU4aGGifuJJhH7Q">Philip Sidney</a> in the age of Shakespeare, to the philosopher <a href="https://iep.utm.edu/girard/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://iep.utm.edu/girard/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607630007258000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHlUJgG6ZydxPVmS77ISoK26vhEww">René Girard</a> in the modern day, mimetic theory has informed some of our civilizations’ most incisive cultural commentary. “Man is the creature who does not know what to desire, and he turns to others in order to make up his mind,” wrote Girard in “Generative Scapegoating. “We desire what others desire because we imitate their desires.”
If you’ve ever heard me or anyone else nattering on about how important it is for conservatives to understand and care about art and culture, this is why. When we make art, we’re not just painting pretty pictures or saying nice words. We’re trying to represent something spiritual by imitating it and so conveying it: those pictures and words are trying to get at an internal feeling or experience which others will grasp and experience themselves. Shakespeare himself described it as holding “the mirror up to nature,” which gets it about right. When good art hits you with a really accurate portrayal—an effective imitation of some reality—it compels you to feel something, to reproduce within yourself what the artist is expressing.
It’s a powerful tool, and it can be used for more than just self-expression: it can be used for influence and control. When something is repeated and reproduced enough, it prompts that deep human impulse of imitation and catches on—it goes viral. This is what happens when a song plays on the radio so much that it gets in your head even if you hate it: by the sheer power of mimēsis, it worms its way into your brain and forces you to imitate some small part of the culture, to reproduce it within your own self.
This brings us to memes, in the current digital sense. A meme is mimēsis distilled, like the “crack” form of cocaine: an endless repetition that finds its way into your own patterns of thought whether you like it or not. Ever find yourself saying “lol” out loud, or thinking “<a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sad-panda" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sad-panda&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607630007258000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGgnZsYjd0QIbPaH86vNvToVLYocQ">sad panda</a>!” in response to something genuinely tragic? If so, then your online experience has memed its way into your head, even if you don’t know exactly the origin of the meme or endorse all its assumptions.
Therapy and Manhood
When a meme gets popular, or has a resurgence, it says something about what’s on people’s minds. You can almost feel them rippling like waves across the surface of social media, or watch them pass from hand to hand overhead like a beach ball at a rock concert. That’s what happened this week with the “men need therapy” meme, which had a bit of a moment this past <a href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/do-all-men-need-therapy/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/do-all-men-need-therapy/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607630007258000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG4Y6FR-WLXUBXZoN4RDnJ4Q2XENQ">July</a> and has now appeared in the world’s bloodstream again.
This time the particular mutation is: “why do men do x instead of go to therapy?” “why do men start podcasts instead of going to therapy,” <a href="https://twitter.com/flossybabyjay/status/1335606543056769025?s=20" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/flossybabyjay/status/1335606543056769025?s%3D20&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607630007258000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGek8FXxEJ6GDq068nObirAMM3eBQ">asked</a> @flossybabyjay, virally. Or “why do men start going to the gym instead of therapy,”<a href="https://twitter.com/custardloaf/status/1336313181090709504?s=20" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/custardloaf/status/1336313181090709504?s%3D20&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607630007258000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHD-P1brjrvB8pGbhsjfjDsmJbU-g">wondered</a> @custardloaf. It seems silly to analyze something so apparently frivolous, but it’s not: these weird little verbal tics emerge out of deep, gut-level attitudes about the world. They’re worth examining in detail.
In this case, we can start with the answers to these questions: why do so many men prefer to go to the gym than to therapy? What’s with all those podcasts, anyway? Well for one thing, men are (gasp) different from women. Most good therapists will tell you that perpetual counseling with no defined endpoint is bad for anyone, but men in particular tend to be <a href="https://www.nyrealestatelawblog.com/manhattan-litigation-blog/2015/july/men-are-more-goal-oriented/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nyrealestatelawblog.com/manhattan-litigation-blog/2015/july/men-are-more-goal-oriented/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607630007258000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFvJW1-5Pvw69u5KbSyMCYna9zu9A">goal-oriented</a>. We like going out and doing stuff, and we like to have a target that tells us when the stuff is done.
So the state of simply “being in therapy”—as opposed to “doing therapy” to resolve a particular issue—is unlikely to fly with men as a sales pitch. But on a deeper level, for many men, taking on new projects is itself a form of therapy. In response to the question about working out, one lifter wrote: “I started lifting with a friend a few years ago and I had no idea he was depressed. A few months ago he told [me] that lifting every day with me saved his life.” Any man who has ever processed his feelings by going out and building something, or writing a novel, or basically making anything, will understand that experience: it’s kind of a guy thing to resolve your more intense feelings by getting active rather than talking at length.
None of which is particularly a knock on therapy itself, which can be totally helpful for men under some circumstances—soldiers suffering from PTSD, for example, or guys who had abusive parents. That in itself is part of what makes it so wrongheaded to cast therapy as some cure-all which can “fix” men, as opposed to all the other things like weightlifting and podcasting which are just “tactics” to “avoid dealing with things.” If you talk about therapy that way, you make it into something most guys are going to shun at all costs.
Why wouldn’t they? If you’re going to belittle all the good and manly stuff we do like it’s some kind of childish evasion ritual rather than, you know, the stuff civilizations are built on—and if you’re going to contrast therapy to building, using tools, working out, making art, and all the other stuff we love to contribute to the world—then I’m sorry, but we’re going to tell you to pound sand. I can think of nothing more likely to scare a dude away from therapy (perhaps at exactly the moment when it might be life-saving) than to present it as the thing that will deflate all his manly energies and just let him have a good cry.
This, I believe, is the heart of the matter and the core of the meme: it’s not actually about getting men to go to therapy when they need it or inviting them to become more emotionally aware. It’s not about helping or healing men at all. It’s about identifying manhood itself as something that needs fixing, and therapy as a cure you absolutely 100% need if you have the terrible disease of being a man. Dig down into the logic of the meme and you’ll find an ugly little hostility squirming like some kind of angry bug: “why don’t men go to therapy” quite simply means “men are bad.”
How and Why to Win at Memes
I present this little rant as an object lesson in how to read and understand what goes on in the culture, and an argument for paying attention where doing so might seem a little foolish at first. It’s not foolish, actually, to scroll Twitter once in a while and parse the video game references or movie quotes that are really generating traffic today. It’s a way of discerning how people feel and are making each other feel—and what we are inviting one another to want or aspire toward.
This, for what it’s worth, is exactly why places like the Daily Wire are so important. You don’t save the world just by writing laws: you save it by making memes. Good memes, and good art, and internet videos or podcasts of your own that can really catch on and speak to people, the way all art and indeed all culture does. We who write and speak at DW are not just trying to convince people here, though of course I think we present some pretty good arguments for our points of view. We are trying to get under people’s skin and implant there something more wholesome than the toxicity of the Left.
A final word in response to what I imagine will be a major objection: isn’t what I’m talking about just brainwashing or indoctrination? No, I answer: it’s half or more than half of our humanity. The fact that leftists use art and culture to so hideously sicken Americans—children especially—has left us with Orwellian concerns about what it means to persuade someone using more than just facts and logic.
But the truth of the matter is, though people do learn and grow intellectually, they also get won over emotionally, in their hearts. It has been very rightly said that “facts don’t care about your feelings.” That’s exactly true, and a crucial observation. But it’s also the case that people’s feelings are facts, and in order to operate effectively in the world you have to take facts about how people feel and how they operate emotionally into account. To really persuade them, you have to ingrain in them the intuitions that prepare them to receive logic in a good and noble frame of mind.
Plato made exactly that argument in his Laws: before children can use reason, they hear nursery rhymes. Before we ever walk into a lecture hall, we see movies and sing songs. And today, as Plato couldn’t have known but might have predicted, we make memes. We ought to take care how we do so, because—to paraphrase another Greek, Archimedes—give me a meme and a place to stand, and I will move the world.
Spencer Klavan is host of the <a href="http://youngheretics.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://youngheretics.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1606431224802000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF83sqnbRSoskQQ6sEAo_cYVTeiMg">Young Heretics</a> podcast and associate editor of the <a href="https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1606431224802000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGTcuBM7QTUoG0IILQKEiWbSzKnoQ">Claremont Review of</a> Books and <a href="https://americanmind.org/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://americanmind.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1606431224802000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGMUl1NuGq0C5ObYzxcMCv-7q9PNA">The American Mind</a>. He can be reached on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/spencerklavan" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/spencerklavan&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1606431224802000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGHBgoLcqZAhuVqJiN9d0bQFEIbog">@SpencerKlavan</a>.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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