8 Cringe-Worthy Moments in 2016 Social Media | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

8 Cringe-Worthy Moments in 2016 Social Media

There are hundreds but this is a starting point.

33
8 Cringe-Worthy Moments in 2016 Social Media
Slate

1. The lawsuit over a pre-election selfie

This first one actually started in December with a selfie taken by Madonna's ex-boyfriend, Brahim Zaibat, of himself beside the sleeping Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the far-right National Front party in France, on a plane.The selfie took place the day before round two of regional elections and stunned many when the National Front failed to win a single region after doing well in the first round. Le Pen sued for €50,000 ($56,000) in damages for invasion of privacy and copyright. Mr. Zaibat didn't pay that much (3000) but was ordered to take down the photo by a French court in February as le Pen did have exclusive right to his own image.

2. Robert "I'm not the joker, you are." Morrow's Twitter feed

Robert Morrow was a relative unknown until he got the Travis County, Texas GOP Chairman position in March, much to the dismay of the Texas GOP. His Twitter feed was uncensored and the likes of which even stunned Trump supporters. Content includes but is not limited to: accusations of homo- and bisexuality among dozens of politicians, anti-Zionism, cow transformation pornography, regular pornography, and various expletives. He was chairman until August, de-facto resigning by being a write-in candidate for president.

3. A Clinton SuperPAC spending one million dollars on online trolls

Correct the Record, founded in May of 2015, started a campaign to push back against anti-Hilary comments on Facebook, Reddit, Twitter and Instagram this past April. Claiming to combat "misinformation and misogyny," the mission basically validated criticism coming from Sanders supporters, that Hillary's campaign wasn't clicking with millennials and used wealthy coordinators and the sexism card (Bernie Bros, Sons of Obama anyone?) to deflect from her foreign policy experience and make groups like Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash (BSDMS) intolerable for months.

4. The death of Vine

Twitter, which got a hold on Vine before it even launced in 2012, made the announcement late last month. With six-second masterpieces, Vine was a staple in short-and-sweet, especially for black youth. While never really recovering from the launch of Instagram video, Vine has also had to compete with Facebook and Youtube. It's a questionable time for Twitter profits and Vine was dead weight in that regard. It's pretty hard to work advertising into such a platform, and I'm going to miss this for ages. There have been statements about making the videos available for download to creators but users are already making compilations of their personal faves on Youtube and Tumblr.

5. The rise of the Alt-Right


[Pictured above left to right: Milo Yiannopolous, Jared Taylor, Andrew Anglin, Richard Spencer, and Stephen Bannon]

Drawing from a term coined by white nationalist Richard Spencer and popularized by keyboard warriors, alt-Right membership ranges from neo-Nazis to anti-establishment Republicans. During and following the election win for Donald Trump, there have been a slew of Twitter bans of alt-Right users, including Mr. Spencer, his think tank the National Policy Institute, and his publication The Radix Journal. It of course won't stop them or this ideology that has been brewing, this is going to be a clusterf*ck for the decades.

6. In related news, Pepe being declared a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League

Pepe the Frog has come a long way since his days as "Feels Good Man" ten years ago. A favorite among veteran memers and casual normies alike, he has circulated into tens of thousands of iterations that have made their way into celebrity tweets and instagram photos. Frankly, I agree with the author in saying that this is a phase. Memes go through an extraordinary amount of evolution, as Kermit the Frog can attest to, and the rate that these infectious images are created is stronger than ever. There are more legitimate symbols of white nationalism to deal with like 1488 and (((signaling Jewish-ness))) that should make CNN headlines.

7. #thetriggering

Meant to be a pushback against political correctness, trigger warnings, and more ambitious members of the Social Justice movement (usually called SJW's or "social justice warriors"), Lauren Southern asked users to tweet politically incorrect content with the above hashtag. Why is this necessarily a mess? I included it because using a hashtag to identify sensitive content... is a trigger warning. There are also much more constructive ways to fight for free speech. (Organizations I recommend include the ACLU and FIRE.)

8. Tony the Tiger being forced to block some Twitter users for sexual comments

To be brief, Furries are a loose-knit community of people who enjoy wearing animal costumes and/or taking on animal personalities, known as "fursonas." While not inherently sexual, a sizable amount of the community online are more prominent, as tumblr and DeviantArt users are well aware. Whereas Tony the Tiger cast them out, though, Chester Cheetah is welcoming them with open arms.

There is still a month left and nothing would surprise me at this point.


Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
female tv characters
We Heart It

Over the past decade, television has undergone a very crucial transition: the incorporation of female lead characters. Since it's a known fact that girls actually do run the world (Beyonce said so herself), it's time for the leading ladies of the small screen to get some credit. Without these characters, women would still be sitting in the background of our favorite shows. These women are not only trailblazers for female empowerment, but role models for women worldwide. With that, here are 15 of the smartest, sassiest ladies gracing our screens that remind us that women do, indeed, rule:

Keep Reading...Show less
New Now Next
New Now Next

If you are like me, you have an interesting personality. Basically, you love to be sassy and snarky, gossip, and act like a total bitch (not really), but deep down, you are actually a very genuinely nice person. The idea of actually hurting someone truly makes you feel bad, and you probably have never actually hurt someone’s feelings because your kindness always shines through, even if you do not want it to. Not sure exactly what I would call this type of personality, but if you identify with it, here are some feelings you can undoubtedly relate to.

Keep Reading...Show less
Blair Waldorf
Cub Magazine

We all have a little bit of Blair Waldorf inside of us. You may not realize it, but you're probably guilty of at least nine out of ten of these listed points. So why don't we reminisce on the famous Blair Waldorf moments where we realized we were actually her at certain times through the series?

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

11 Confessions Of A Sleep-A-Holic

If your plans get cancelled, there is a 99.9% percent chance you are sleeping.

1397
woman lying on bed
Photo by Kinga Howard on Unsplash

1. What are some of your hobbies? Does sleep count?

I'm so good at sleeping I can do it with my eyes closed

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

7 Reasons To Watch One Tree Hill

"There is only one tree hill, Jaime Scott."

1548
one tree hill
Wikipedia Commons

If you need a new series to watch, I recommend One Tree Hill. I watched this series three times now and it only keeps getting better. If you need any more reasons beside the fact that all of the seasons are on Netflix for your binge-watching pleasure, here are seven more reasons to watch it.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments