In the immediate aftermath of the April terrorist attack in the Pahalgam region of Jammu and Kashmir, and anger in India towards Pakistan at harbouring terrorists, diplomatic rhetoric escalated and media outlets erupted with outrage and calls for immediate military action. The online space also mirrored this sentiment, with the discourse largely dominated by outrage, and patriotic sloganeering. As anger poured out online in India, Pakistan’s digital communities were quick to respond – not with statements, but with memes. These messages were filled with dark, sardonic and occasionally brutal humour to mock India’s exaggerated media reactions, question its moral authority, and in turn, slowly shift the narrative by mixing a form of politics and humour. What could once be dismissed as trivial internet banter, slowly transformed into soft power in motion. In an era where wars are fought as much with symbols as with bullets, memes have become tools of influence, contestation, and digital diplomacy.
Hashtag geopolitics: Understanding the power of memes in the India-Pakistan conflict (Antara Chakraborthy, Yasmine Wong – The Interpreter)
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