Summary
Newsweek/The Conversation piece by Penn State political scientist Michael Berkman analyzing the meme transmission dynamic in Trump’s Twitter communication (2016-2017). Key finding: Trump’s anger and its specific targets spread rapidly to his supporters — 40%+ of Trump supporters spontaneously cited exactly the same post-election protest topics Trump tweeted about, often using his language verbatim. Anger memes spread more than magnanimous ones.
Key Points
- After Trump’s “professional protesters” tweet (post-Nov. 2016 election): 1/3 of Trump supporters mentioned the protests when asked what made them angry (unprompted); another 11% mentioned media — total 40%+ aligned with Trump’s tweet targets
- Same supporters had Russia Today’s (RT) false “paid protesters” narrative embedded in their language without ever having been explicitly told it came from RT
- 73% of Trump supporters citing “the media” as anger target said they were “extremely angry”; 58% similarly on protesters
- Key finding: Trump supporters internalized his anger frames and reproduced them spontaneously; Clinton supporters were overwhelmingly angry at Trump, not protesters or media
- Trump also tweeted a magnanimous post praising protesters’ passion — supporters did NOT pick this up; only the angry memes spread
- Implies: political meme transmission is asymmetric; anger travels better than reconciliation
Newsletter Angles
- The asymmetric meme transmission finding (anger spreads; reconciliation doesn’t) is directly applicable to the Kirk assassination response: Trump’s “revenge at the voter box” frame will spread among his supporters while condemnation appeals won’t
- This is a 2017 piece that has only become more true — worth citing as foundational context for how the current media ecosystem functions
Entities Mentioned
- Donald Trump — subject of analysis; anger meme originator
Concepts Mentioned
- Political Violence Cycle — anger meme transmission is the mechanism by which inflammatory events get amplified
- Echo Chamber and Polarization — meme theory as explanation for why partisan echo chambers self-reinforce
Notes
Newsweek/The Conversation. February 18, 2017. Academic-grade source from Penn State. Published early Trump first term; conclusions have been validated by subsequent research. Good theoretical anchor for understanding how Trumpian political communication works.