Memes as Artefacts of Digital Journalism: A Thematic Analysis of Indian COVID-19 Memes

The COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown, powered by excessive mobile usage, resulted in a worldwide surge in pandemic memes. A populist form of humour-based communication, internet memes trigger sensitive social, cultural, economic and political discourses on social media. The relevance of memes in online communication is undeniable given their high digital intractability, virality and mass appeal. As a result, the coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent events, as well as the creation of public narratives about the pandemic using the power of digital media, constitute an intriguing case in digital journalism. From an Indian perspective, this chapter investigated the function of memes in online communication and digital journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Several recurring themes in the COVID-19 memes were analysed to map out the perception of life during the pandemic and the pandemic itself in popular memory on the Indian digital space. Using the thematic framework  by Braun and Clarke, (2006), the scope of COVID-19 memes as popular artefacts of digital journalism in India was explored.