<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128; background: white; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“This landmark book is the first to fully explain how memes have become a critical part of UK politics. Through rich and convincing empirical analysis, Southern reveals how digital humour is transforming citizen participation, elite communication, and the very nature of political discourse. A must-read for anyone seeking to understand the evolution of digital political culture and its profound impact on democracy.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128; background: white; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">&#xa0;</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; background: white; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><!-- [if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Helvetica',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">–<span style="font: 7.0pt 'Times New Roman';">&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0; </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128; background: white; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><strong>James Dennis</strong>, Researcher at Lusófona University, Portugal</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128; background: white; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">&#xa0;</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="background: white; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128; background: white; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">&#xa0;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128; background: white; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“From ‘shitposts’ to ‘Karen memes’, political communication is changing and Rosalynd Southern is a lively guide to the pithy world of memes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&#xa0; </span>A cutting-edge study that deserves to be read.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">&#xa0;</p><p class="x_MsoNormal"><span data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">—&#xa0;<strong>Stephen Coleman</strong>, Emeritus Professor of Political Communication, </span>University of Leeds, UK</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><strong><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128; background: white;">&#xa0;</span></strong></p><div class="x_elementToProof" data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody"><div class="x_elementToProof" data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">In 2015, a story emerged alleging that then-Prime Minister David Cameron had placed ‘a private part of his anatomy’ into the mouth of a dead pig’s head during an initiation ceremony at the University of Oxford. Upon this allegation breaking, social media erupted with a plethora of memes and jokes about the incident, which became known as ‘Piggate’. Although there had been a move towards jovial talk of politics on social media prior to this, the episode seemed to distil the practice and precipitate a new era of near-constant humorous online reaction to political events. Considering this context, this book assesses how memetic practices have shaped political communication and culture in the past decade-plus, and the consequences thereof. It does so from four perspectives, encompassing a focus on ordinary citizens, a group of online activists, a key social media satirist and, finally, focusing on how elites have deployed these practices.</div><div>&#xa0;</div></div>