When Matt Furie drew Pepe the Frog for a short-lived magazine in 2005, he had no way of knowing the character would become a mascot for the so-called "alt-right," a loose coalition of far-right groups that veer toward white nationalism.
Monday, September 25, 2017
Is the alt-right’s use of Pepe the Frog “fair use?”
When Matt Furie drew Pepe the Frog for a short-lived magazine in 2005, he had no way of knowing the character would become a mascot for the so-called "alt-right," a loose coalition of far-right groups that veer toward white nationalism.
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This article brings to light the complex use of symbols in our current political climate and invites questions about how we can navigate such issues. In this case, I agree that there are shades of gray, however I think that ultimately the use of the symbol by the alt-right has superceded and "transformed" the artist's original purpose. Therefore, I feel he should win the case as it will set an important precedent for the fair use of artistic ideas in this age of political unrest and the widespread network of information we have ever increasing access to.
Pepe the frog has been used for years by hateful groups on the internet – why is the artist only now speaking out about its use by the alt-right? I fear that the artist is only now bringing up the frog’s use by hate groups for the publicity of standing against them. If the artist really did care about the ethical use of his character he would have halted its use back in the early days of its use. I agree that this situation brings up some very important questions concerning our use of symbols and images on the internet. I believe that this case should go to court (and should have gone years ago) in order to settle the definition of a “meme”. Communities on the internet (on both sides of the aisle) use the images or work of artists to tell jokes or express ideas. These images can be single panels from cartoons, characters, still from movies, photographs, screenshots of tweets, and a wide variety of other things. The original artist is almost never recognized or compensated for their work. Not all of these fall under the umbrella of parody. We need to legally determine if the use of these images and quotes is a copy right violation.
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