Pepe the Frog started back in 2005 as an innocent comic character that embodied the philosophy of “Feels good man.” Over the years, Pepe would evolve into a meme that represented sadness, anger, and smugness. But during this year’s presidential race, Pepe was co-opted by the alt right as a white nationalist icon in memes which were shared by Donald Trump, Jr and other Trump surrogates. Given the candidate’s appeal to white supremacists, Pepe has become readily identified as a symbol of the Trump campaign in the darkest corners of the Internet. Recently, because of its anti-Semitic associations, the Anti-Defamation League added the frog to its list of hate symbols.
Fed up with Trump supporters and their disgusting Pepe memes, John Marshall, editor and publisher of the Talking Points Memo, decided to reclaim green frogs for the Internet once and for all. So he enlisted America’s most beloved frog, Kermit, to fight Pepe under #ImWithKer.
I feel like the rest of us need to get behind a canonical pluralism frog to turn back the tide, re-appropriate what… https://t.co/7W0vxr3U0W— Josh Marshall (@Josh Marshall)1475460167.0
Clinton supporters and those against alt-right racism got on board quickly.
@joshtpm #MakeAmericaKermitAgain https://t.co/WJXnoALfVU— kenny (@kenny)1475460312.0
#Imwithker #ImWithHer https://t.co/s0sMWHw6V5— George A. Hickman (@George A. Hickman)1475466369.0
Hey may not be the frog we deserve, but he's the one we need right now #ImWithKer https://t.co/E2t0080FY6— Andrew Tumilty (@Andrew Tumilty)1475466517.0
#ImWithKer because Sesame Street has known about Donald Grump since I was a kid. https://t.co/aRlz15mOp4— Dusty Дасти (@Dusty Дасти)1475471610.0
Kermit gets it. #imwithker https://t.co/k12LfVKJiY— * .˚ Tammaria*.Blue✨ *. ˚ .* *. .˚ . *. .* ˚ .* (@* .˚ Tammaria*.Blue✨ *. ˚ .* *. .˚ . *. .* ˚ .*)1475475364.0
He's spent YEARS in loyal service to his country (not like that Draft Dodger, Pepe). #ImWithKer https://t.co/TcgD4Ca3kt— Amee Vanderpool (@Amee Vanderpool)1475502434.0
I like my frogs 3 Dimensional and full of pip, not flat and racist. #ImWithKer https://t.co/sHYbCuX39y— Amee Vanderpool (@Amee Vanderpool)1475502212.0
#ImWithKer because teaching kids to hate is not ok. https://t.co/EGg3oZbs1I— Renée (@Renée)1475494362.0
#ImWithKer because I want something better for us than bigotry. https://t.co/UEaPgzEkGQ— J⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛es (@J⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛es)1475467974.0
Kermit knows what it's like to be different: https://t.co/sNwXKR8H5w Kermit > bigotry! #TakeBackTheFrog #ImWithKermit #ImWithKer @joshtpm— Joe (@Joe)1475467720.0
Of course, then the alt right struck back.