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However, the field of study still lacks a uniform terminology. The body of academic literature on propaganda memes has grown significantly over the past few years. Since then, numerous studies have attempted to break down how memes communicate ideas, influence opinions, and spread through digital networks - all in the hope of minimizing their corrosive influence. The 2016 election in particular alarmed scholars about the power and danger that propaganda memes wield in today’s interconnected civilization. presidential elections, influencing the public’s opinion of the candidates and affecting voter turnout. According to several studies focused on the U.S., memes created by domestic and foreign propagandists played a key role in both the 20 U.S. While our academic understanding of the medium is still developing, propaganda memes have already had a noticeable effect on society. They can easily be shared online and have huge potential to go viral, making their spread and influence almost impossible to counter. Aside from the fact that they can communicate complex ideas quickly, they also require minimal effort to make and interpret. There are several explanations for why memes became instruments of propaganda. Computational propagandists use a variety of media, from text to videos and - yes - memes. The age of information also gave birth to an entirely new form of propaganda that could not have existed before: computational propaganda, or the practice of using automated processes to spread misinformation online. In the Arthashastra, an ancient Sanskrit treatise written during the third century BC, the polymath Chanakya discussed how rulers can use misinformation to govern society and wage war Chanakya’s student, Chandragupta Maurya, relied on his mentor’s understanding of propaganda to found the Mauryan Empire. Thanks to their ability to communicate complex ideas quickly and efficiently, they are now being used as a form of propaganda, influencing our opinions and actions without us even knowing it. However, as time went on and templates became more and more recognizable, internet memes developed into something more than just a silly joke. Back when cell phones were not yet advanced enough to support playing YouTube videos, platforms like Reddit and 9GAG allowed their users to browse through mindless entertainment before falling asleep. When memes first started gaining popularity in the late 2000s, most were harmless and relatively uncontroversial.