ABSTRACT
This paper explores how Internet memes are used for the purpose of character assassination. Internet memes seem especially predestined to attack the character of an individual or an organization. Unlike traditional mass media, memes are usually of unclear origin, and thus hard to counter by traditional means of strategic communication, e.g., discredit the source. A case study on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is presented, in which Internet memes are analyzed that surfaced in the weeks before the 2016 presidential elections. With the case study, it is shown which forms of character assassination are carried out utilizing memes and it is enquired what its consequences for the political discourse could be.
