I think that memes do play a role, and the idea of using memes for political propaganda isn't new either. A lot of the memes Bolsheviks used even look similar to modern day versions. The soyjack being a prime example

In my opinion, the value of memes is that they're easy to digest and they're a conversation starter. It's important to remember that we have to meet people at their current stage of political education development. Memes should be seen as an entry point for people who have little political understanding. Memes are very easy to share, and people are much more likely to look at them than long essays or videos analyzing the subject.

When somebody sees a meme that resonates with how they feel then it creates an emotional response. This acts as a hook to get the person to investigate the issue further. It's a really good practice to add links to articles providing a deeper analysis of the subject in a meme. If the meme clicks then the person might follow the link and get further educated.

A key to a making a good meme is for it to present a particular problem in a relatable way and frame it in a way that gets people thinking in the right direction.

[–] Leninismydad@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Memes are effective at making people feel less alone when they see memes they agree with, they're also funny and lift spirits, which as a leftist in this world is extremely important, memes definitely also play a part in radicalization, funny=relatable=something I want to be apart of.

I'm not a fan of blanket dismissal of everything online as useless or a waste of time, people spend their entire lives online now, this shit is crucial imo, but it isn't the same thing as organizing irl

[–] olgas_husband@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 1 year ago

you accidentally dunked a lot of communist parties out there, the brazillian communist party for example shun militants that make youtube channels and have kinda of a conservative view on leninism that printed paper is the only true way.

anedoticly i say that internet propaganda works, if you know how to surf the algorithm and bypass some limitations of private monopolies, i never met personally a communist or seen a printed paper in my life, i got into marxism via internet propagandists

[–] GrainEater@lemmygrad.ml 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Memes by themselves, not really. Informative posts, yes. If the memes help people find the informative posts, they're useful

[–] sovietsnake@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What about informative memes.

[–] GrainEater@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 1 year ago

[–] LarkinDePark@lemmygrad.ml 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You can find a lot of people online saying that they were radicalised by socialist meme aggregators.

This is akin to asking if the likes of 4chan or Reddit creates reactionaries. Of course it does. It's a gateway to ideology.