Internet Memes as Actants of Political Participation and Historical Imagination-The Peculiar Case of Hong Kong Society

Abstract

Internet memes have captured the attention of scholars from various fields in the last few years—from the domains of public health and social psychology, through anthropology and international relations to communication and media studies (Akram et al., 2021; Denisova, 2019; de Seta, 2020; Guadagno et al., 2013; Harvey et al., 2019; Williams et al., 2016). Internet memes, as a genre of digital folklore (de Seta, 2020), usually represent humorous digital items carrying cultural information that diffuses at micro levels but further influences macro structures of society (Shifman, 2013). Internet users generate this type of content with the knowledge of the existence of other Internet memes, which is further disseminated by different means of imitation while following the norms of cultural transmission and competitive selection (Shifman, 2013).

The role of memes in civic and political mobilization has also been noted. For example, memes were one of the critical facets through which the Occupy the Wall Street movement contributed to the mediation of a polyvocal dialogue among different political stakeholders in public life, consequently leading to the inclusion of a greater variety of voices in public discus-sions (Milner, 2013). On the other hand, the' intensified use of memetic weapons' is nowadays linked to European Identitarians' modern online crusades (Strick, 2022) or the mobilization of extreme right-wing white supremacists (Ludemann, 2017).

As Davis, Love, and Killen (2018) note, economies of laughter have become indistinguishably meshed with citizens' participatory activities, with memefication being one of the dominant formative and discursive forces behind the contemporary political landscape. This is best evidenced by the fact that one of the most popular and fastest-growing social media was conceived relying on the logic of technological mimicry and approaching its users as entities who, just like memes as envisioned by Richard Dawkins, compete for attention (Zulli & Zulli, 2020).

Memes play a crucial role as small-scale acts of media (content) reimagination and dis-semination, especially in a controlled and propagandized environment where the primary goal is to marginalize individuals who voice dissenting views and stifle the kind of open discourse that encourages a wide range of opinions. Through vibrant visual imagery and a tradition of innovative recombination and collective engagement, meme culture offers a platform for reinvigorated modes of public dialogue and social cohesion (Mina, 2014). When it comes to Hong Kong, whose media system has faced gradual censorship and restrictions in previous years - meme-based communication has become one of the most important ways of communication, especially for members of social movements (Mina, 2019). Some authors explain the existing friction within Hong Kong society with the thesis that the Hong Kong localist movement em-bodies a post-colonial nation-building project. Namely, some parties of citizens imagine their purified, decolonized collective past as a lost homeland. In contrast, the new ruling regimes—those with close ties to mainland China and the Communist Party—are envisioned as the new colonizers (Wang, 2019, p. 430). In the initial study, the authors examine the thesis on historical re-imagination (and post-colonial nation-building process) on the dozens of Internet memes circulated among Hong Kong netizens - during and after the protests. We examine how netizens have portrayed (and reimagined) two specific temporal reference units:

1) Hong Kong's Handover in 1997 from Great Britain to China;
2) the year 2047 - the year until Hong Kong has guaranteed its autonomy.

In addition, a recent experimental study provides evidence that exposure to memes can influence the ideological positioning of the audience (Galipeau, 2022). Following this and based on the literature on (self-)effects of social media (Pingree, 2007; Valkenburg, 2017), we seek to examine the degree of influence of political internet memes on political participation.

Understanding the mechanisms through which political memes affect political behavior is critical for comprehending the dynamics of contemporary political participation. As Internet memes can serve as catalysts for mobilization, examining their effects on political trust, collective identity, and civic engagement can provide empirical evidence of how digital content translates into offline political action, thereby contributing to the broader discourse on participatory democracy.

For this purpose, we distinguish memetic exposure from memetic expression. Memetic exposure refers to one's exposure to memetic content on social media newsfeeds. In contrast, memetic expression refers to levels of one's active, expressive engagement with memetic con-tent (such as sharing, commenting, creating, and remixing). In line with the above discussion and by following Pingree's model of message effects (2007), we hypothesized that the expressive effects (self-effects) of political internet memes usage on offline political participation would be more substantial than the reception effects.

The second study relies on the cross-sectional survey data collected from Hong Kong (N=992) - briefly after the prolonged 2019-20 turmoil, which transfused in a high turnout in the local elections. Findings indicate that political trust mediates the effects of online political meme expression on political participation but not the effect of political meme exposure. Moreover, the effects of political meme expression and exposure on political trust are significantly moderated by politicized collective identity. The study provides evidence of the indirect effects of political meme expression and exposure on political participation via political trust, further moderated by politicized collective social identity. The findings suggest that online memetic engagement indeed does promote corporeal political participation. Admittedly, it is also interesting that this is barely the case with "prosaic" memetic exposure, proving the significance of the theoretical framework on participatory propaganda and the effects of social media expression.

Findings from the third study, which rely on the two-wave panel data from Hong Kong (N=445), show that memetic expression on social networks is positively associated with offline political participation intention.

The dissertation consists of 6 chapters. The first two chapters are an extensive literature review on memetics and the role of Internet memes in political communication; Chapter 3 explores the role of Internet Memes as communicative memory in the context of Hong Kong society, and it relies on the multimodal discourse analysis of memetic content; Chapter 4 explores the idea of political Internet Memes as a gateway for political participation and it is rooted in cross-sectional survey study; Chapter 5 investigates the potential causal link between memetic engagement and offline political participation based on the panel data. Our discoveries contribute to the Internet memes theory building in political communication. Apart from that, these are novel insights from a non-Western context concerning active citizenship, cultural memory, and the self-effects of social media.

Ultimately, this dissertation not only advances theoretical frameworks surrounding memetics and political engagement but also highlights the transformative potential of digital communication in shaping civic participation. By examining the interplay between memetic expression and political action, we provide a deeper understanding of how contemporary forms of communication can mobilize individuals and communities, thereby enriching the discourse on participatory democracy in the digital age. This research underscores the importance of Internet memes as significant cultural artifacts that reflect and influence political realities, offering a fresh perspective on the dynamics of power, identity, and resistance in a rapidly evolving media landscape.

This study is particularly important in non-Western contexts, where traditional political communication channels may be constrained. By analyzing the role of memes in shaping political consciousness and collective memory in specific cultural settings, the research offers nuanced insights into how marginalized voices navigate and resist dominant power structures, thereby enriching our understanding of global political communication and the role of digital media in fostering active citizenship.

Date of Award	27 Aug 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Marko SKORIC (Supervisor)