The meme battlefield: anti-woke humor against wokeness and dark woke culture

İngilizce (OpenAlex)

This study examines anti-woke humor shared through internet memes in debates around woke culture. The analysis draws on a qualitative dataset of approximately 700 memes posted between 2024 and 2025. Using thematic analysis, the study looks at how these memes take part in ideological conflicts online. The findings indicate that many memes mock trans and queer representation, describe changes in race or character in popular media as imposed diversity, and target well-known political figures within broader culture wars. Anti-woke content moves beyond domestic politics and refers to terrorism, international conflicts, and questions of taste and aesthetics. Thus, popular culture becomes a space where humor, irony, and exaggeration intensify debates related to identity. This study also shows that memes function as ammunition on the cultural and political battlefield, reinforcing divisions while normalizing ideological conflict in communication.