ABSTRACT
This chapter untangles internet memes as a form of vernacular creative expression that allows individuals to play with language, imagery, and cultural references, fostering community belonging and reinforcing group identities. Idil Galip and Eleni Maragkou focus on how memetic irony, commonly associated with alt-right subcultures on the “deep vernacular web”, also thrives within post-left communities, notably among the “Dirtbag Left”. This loose group of left-wing figures uses irony and inflammatory rhetoric to engage with political and cultural discourse. Through an analysis of the Red Scare podcast, the chapter argues that its hosts, Dasha Nekrasova and Anna Khachiyan, use irony and playful subversion to navigate and challenge critique, blending alt-right and post-left sensibilities in a form of detached political engagement. This analysis highlights the complex relationship between meme culture, political identity, and subversion in contemporary online spaces.
