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It has been suggested that this article be merged with Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, 2016. (Discuss) Proposed since March 2016.

Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash (BSDMS) is a Facebook group where members can share and discuss Internet memes relating to American politician and junior United States senator Bernie Sanders. Sanders is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. As of March 2, 2016, the group had over 350,000 members.

History

The group was created in early October 2015 by Will Dowd and Sean Walsh with the purpose of supporting the 2016 Bernie Sanders presidential campaign. As of March 2, 2016, the group had a member count of 350,000. By contrast, on March 2, 2016, the largest Hillary Clinton meme group, called "Hillary Clinton Dank Meme Stash," had 500 members and mostly posted about pro-Sanders issues.

A spin-off dating site, Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Singles, was founded by Beth Hannah, who works for the Human Resource Development Council in Havre, Montana. On February 18, 2016, the group had over 8,000 members.

Content

The content of Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash is user-submitted. Members of the group create posts as commentary for Sanders and his presidential campaign. Many of the posts edit the politician into popular culture as well as Internet memes as Pepe the Frog. Memes may include image macros. While predominantly based on Facebook, content from BSDMS is also shared on Reddit, Tumblr, and Twitter. Voting selfies are also uploaded.

The group's moderators aim for positive commentary on the candidate. Bernie Bros are usually berated via the Facebook's comment feature and banned. Memes that are sexist, racist, or ad hominem attacks against Clinton are not approved. Dowd has said little coordination goes into the creation of memes. Co-founder and former moderator Walsh has said, "This generation's memes are that generation's C-SPAN or Huffington Post. Seriously, memes are going to be very prevalent in politics. They're going to get ideas into your head."

Art

On February 12, 2016, new media artist Matt Starr organized the art exhibition "Weekend with Bernie" for Wayfarers Gallery in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York. The exhibition included Ryder Ripps's installation "Faces of Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Stash" featuring Skype video chats with members of the group as well as a painting of American rapper Lil B as Sanders by Canadian record producer Ryan Hemsworth. The exhibition raised over $10,000 in donations to the Sanders campaign.

Memes

A meme that pitted Clinton and Sanders as opponents was popularized in the group. The meme features a political poster comparing the two candidates on a particular issue. The Daily Dot's Stephen Thomas has called the meme "hugely popular."

On February 10, 2016, another meme, this one an email originally sent to Clinton supporters during the New Hampshire primary, was also popularized via the group. One of the supporters was Maddi Epping, a slam poet from Des Moines, Iowa. The email contained the subject line "I'm not kidding, Maddi". Epping posted a screenshot to the group. The meme became a trending topic on social media platforms and was referenced in several news outlets.

Reactions

Reception

Vice's Carles .Buzz described it with "the Facebook group continues to generate memes for Bernie supporters that transcend the traditional media coverage of their beloved Presidential candidate. The memes are explanatory, deconstructive, self-aware, and incendiary." American electro house musician Steve Aoki has called the group "eternally entertaining." Student newspaper The Oberlin Review's Josh Ashkinaze reviewed the group as "an odd page because political memes usually take a critical stance towards their subject." Yahoo Politics's Alyssa Bereznak called the group the second most popular of the eighteen large groups dedicated to him. Pacific Standard's Wilson Dizard says the BSDMS membership "revel in Internet language and inside jokes that don't appear on an equivalent Clinton page."

Thought Catalog's Jacob Geers reviewed it favorable stating "this Facebook group that didn’t look like anything I’d ever seen before." Geers said the "dank Bernie Sanders memes" were "truly hilarious." New York's Hudson Hongo says the Bernie Sanders meme community is "just one, small, only slightly connected part of a more expansive, and much weirder, segment of Facebook." The Daily Telegraph's Helena Horton called the group "comedic." Daily Kos's Nerdstrom said BSDMS would help win Bernie Sanders the 2016 United States presidential election. Business Insider's Dan Turkel described it as "a page where Sanders fans share bizarre jokes and images about the 74-year-old Vermont senator." Brit + Co's Tannara Yelland said it was "full of 'dank memes' aka memes that are sick af."

Impact

Since the group's creation, many publications have speculated on whether Internet memes would help with Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign. The Washington Post's Caitlin Dewey believes memes are more participatory than news articles or official campaign letters besides persuading voter apathy through humor. Vice's Carles .Buzz finds that memes curated by the group appeal more to a progressive than their radio station's Facebook page. The Daily Kos's Nerdstrom thinks an online community like BSDMS is what the rival presidential candidates lack. Business Insider's Dan Turkel points out how the group highlights enthusiasm among young Internet users. Brit + Co's Tannara Yelland finds that Sanders' Internet appeal via memes resonates with Millennials.

A spin-off group called "Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Singles" inspired an online dating service BernieSingles.com. The website was founded in February 17, 2016 by Arizona State University student Colten Caudle and co-owner David Boni. It received 1,000 registered users within the first hour. Initial attention crashed the website and an upgrade was required. An online fundraiser via GoFundMe was posted to help with server costs. The target goal was $1,000 with the stipulation that excess funds would be donated to the Sanders campaign. The website allows users to search for other users based on geographic region. As of February 22, it had 9,000 registered users.

See also

• Internet meme
• OKComrade

• Comedy
• Internet
• Politics

References

1. ^ Dewey, Caitlin (February 23, 2016). "How Bernie Sanders became the lord of 'dank memes'". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Know Your Meme Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash 2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Dizard, Wilson (March 2, 2016). "How Bernie Sanders became the lord of 'dank memes'". Pacific Standard. Miller-McCune Center for Research, Media and Public Policy. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
4. ^ Emery, Lea Rose (February 18, 2016). "There's A Dating Site For Single Bernie Sanders Supporters". Bustle. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
5. ^ Gum, Jordyn (February 22, 2016). "There's a Dating Site for Single Bernie Sanders Supporters". Her Campus. Her Campus Media, LLC. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
6. ^ Kinery, Emma (February 18, 2016). "Berning love: New dating site launches for Sanders supporters". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
7. ^ Nerdstrom (February 24, 2016). "Bernie Sanders is Going to Win (Because of the Internet)". Daily Kos. Kos Media, LLC. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
8. ^ Silvers, Emma (February 23, 2016). "Only Wanna Date Bernie Sanders Supporters? There's a Site For That". KQED Pop. KQED. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
9. ^ .Buzz, Carles (February 22, 2016). "Can Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash Swing the Election?". Motherboard. Vice. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
10. Ihaza, Jeff (February 24, 2016). "How Artists Have Helped Sustain Bernie Sanders' Run To The White House". The Fader. The FADER Media group. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
11. Armstrong, Annie (February 18, 2016). "Young Artists Rally to Raise $10K for Bernie Sanders". The Creators Project. Vice Media, Inc. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
12. "Inside "Weekend With Bernie", A Bernie Sanders-Themed Art Exhibition In Brooklyn". Paper. Paper Communications. February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
13. Hess, Amanda (February 9, 2016). "The Bernie vs. Hillary meme is weird, ceaseless, and kind of sexist, just like the 2016 campaign". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
14. ^ Thomas, Stephen (February 11, 2016). "Maddi of #ImNotKiddingMaddi opens up about Hillary, Bernie, and Beyoncé's 'Formation'". The Daily Dot. The Daily Dot. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
15. Abalajon, Earl (February 11, 2016). "#ImNotKiddingMaddi Trends After Hillary Clinton Fundraising Email Goes Viral". Yahoo Tech. Yahoo. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
16. ^ Horton, Helena (February 10, 2016). "#ImNotKiddingMaddi trends as Hillary Clinton sends 'desperate' email asking for a dollar after New Hampshire vote". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
17. Cite error: The named reference Know Your Meme I'm Not Kidding, Maddi 2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
18. Phillips, Jack (February 10, 2016). "#ImNotKiddingMaddi Trends, Turns Into a Meme After Hillary Clinton Email Asks for $1". Epoch Times. Epoch Media Group. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
19. Aoki, Steve (February 22, 2016). "The 17 Dankest Bernie Sanders Memes On The Internet". Steve Aoki. Aoki Media. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
20. Ashkinaze, Josh (February 12, 2016). "Politicians Should Embrace Internet Memes". The Oberlin Review. WordPress. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
21. Bereznak, Alyssa (February 9, 2016). "The Bernie Bros rule the Internet". Yahoo Politics. Yahoo!. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
22. Geers, Jacob (January 29, 2016). "19 Bernie Sanders-Themed Dank Memes That Will Have You LOLing (Whether You're Super Political Or Not)". Thought Catalog. Thought Catalog. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
23. Hongo, Hudson (February 25, 2016). "The Rise of Weird Facebook: How the World's Biggest Social Network Became Cool Again (and Why It Matters)". New York. New York Media, LLC. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
24. ^ Turkel, Dan (February 25, 2016). "This stat shows how big Bernie Sanders is on Reddit". Business Insider. Axel Springer SE. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
25. ^ Yelland, Tannara (February 26, 2016). "If Memes Equal Votes, This Candidate Will Be Our Next President". brit.co. Brit + Co. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
26. Guild, Blair (February 19, 2016). "They Found Love In A Sanders Place". The Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
27. Trinidad, Kelsi (February 19, 2016). "Do You Yearn for the Bern? There's a Dating Site for That". The New York Observer. New York Observer, LLC. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
28. ^ Nelson, Rebecca (February 11, 2016). "Looking for Love on a Bernie Sanders Dating Site". GQ. Condé Nast. Retrieved February 23, 2016.

External links

• Official website
• Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Stash on Tumblr

• Articles to be merged from March 2016
• 2015 introductions
• Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, 2016
• Facebook groups
• Political Internet forums
• Social networking services