‘Who is /ourguy/?’: Tracing panoramic memes to study the collectivity of 4chan/pol/

2022/02/09 by Sal Hagen · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Art #Computer science #Digital Games and Media #Epistemology #Literature #Media Studies and Communication #Media studies #Narrative #Philosophy #Social Media and Politics #Sociology #The Internet #Tracing #World Wide Web

paper · pdf · doi:10.1177/14614448221078274

openalex publication_date 2022/02/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02

Abstract

This article explores how Internet memes can be traced as nodal points for the study of online groups. Such ‘meme tracing’ is specifically pertinent to the study of anonymous imageboards like 4chan, where inquiry cannot be easily based on the individual. Drawing from actor-network theory, I argue ‘panoramic memes’ – memes that repeatedly paint a totalising picture of a collective – are especially useful to identify what narratives hold such anonymous groups together. To operationalise this, I conducted a qualitative-quantitative case study of ‘/ourguy/’: a meme used to suggest a certain public figure is representative of the beliefs of an entire group. Using text mining methods, I traced this term to the names of public figures on 4chan’s far-right /pol/ board. This reveals that Donald Trump and Robert Mueller were most commonly proposed as an ‘/ourguy/’ between 2016 and 2020, while the meme was entangled with conspiracy creation and far-right mobilisation.

Citations

• Hearing Ordinary Voices: Cultural Studies, Vernacular Creativity and Digital Storytelling
• The thin ideology of populism
• It’s Supposed to Look Like Shit: The Internet Ugly Aesthetic
• Diving in magma: how to explore controversies with actor-network theory
• Boundary-Work and the Demarcation of Science from Non-Science: Strains and Interests in Professional Ideologies of Scientists
• Internet memes as internet signs: A semiotic view of digital culture
• Teh Internet Is Serious Business

Cited by

• 4chan [wikipedia]