USA TODAY, April 28, 'America is on the move again,' Biden will say in first speech before Congress.C-SPAN, April 28, Presidential Economic Address.
Negative nancy meme full#
A review of the full 70-minute speech further shows Harris and Pelosi were not sleeping at any point. The photo was captured from a moment where Harris and Pelosi were blinking at the same time. "When criticism comes, they can claim fact checkers and other citizens who care about facts simply 'don't get the joke' or 'don't have a sense of humor.'"Īn image claiming to show Harris and Pelosi sleeping during Biden's speech to Congress is FALSE, based on our research. "It's actually quite smart to make political points through humor, as it can spread more widely as a result," Creevy said.
In an email, Creevy said it's common for "bad actors" to use irony and humor to spread misinformation because "it gives some plausible deniability if they are called out." Memes can also feel fun to people and their communities to speak about politics in irreverent ways, he said. Then the format crossed over to mainstream internet culture around 2009, USA TODAY also reported. Whitney Phillips, an assistant professor at Syracuse University who studies media literacy and social media, previously told USA TODAY memes took off during the internet's offensive troll culture. Meme formats became popular in the early 2000s in the form of a picture with Impact font text placed on the bottom and the top of the photo. "It's a classic case of what you might call participatory disinformation." "Online memes are a cheap and easy ways to spread ideas, usually with images overlaid with text, with the text regularly being mixed by other users," said Shane Creevy, the head of editorial at disinformation tracking firm Kinzen. While users who shared the post claimed the image was a joke, experts on online culture and social media say memes can play a prominent role in the spread of misinformation. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who appeared to be fighting sleep during Biden's remarks.įact check: Kamala Harris’ children’s book is not in ‘welcome packs’ for migrantsĬruz quote tweeted the image of Pelosi and Harris with their eyes closed in response to the criticism and wrote, "Kamala & Nancy agree.#BoringButRadical." What's a meme? Meanwhile, Twitter users also mocked Sen. Video footage shows them consistently nodding, applauding, sitting and standing. In the photo, Harris and Pelosi had just sat down in their seats after giving Biden a standing ovation when he said, "America is on the move again."Īt no point during Biden's roughly 70-minute speech were Harris or Pelosi seen to be closing their eyes and sleeping. The perspective in the social media versions of the photo appears warped as it was captured off of a television screen. Harris' and Pelosi's eyes and posture, as well as Biden's stance and facial expression, match the image in the claim, but at a different angle. The scene at mark 5:19 of the C-SPAN video is identical to the photo circulating on social media.