{"id":43863,"date":"2017-01-16T13:49:16","date_gmt":"2017-01-16T12:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?p=43863"},"modified":"2017-01-16T13:49:16","modified_gmt":"2017-01-16T12:49:16","slug":"deconstructing-populism-gifs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/deconstructing-populism-gifs\/","title":{"rendered":"This is How You Deconstruct Populism…With Cat Gifs!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Populism\u00a0appears to understand easy on the surface, as it\u00a0appeals to the most blatant sensibilities of inward-thinking and fearful people. Despite this, the true meaning of the term\u00a0can get obscured; either\u00a0due to contradicting\u00a0reports in the media, the internet or from\u00a0politicians themselves. This confusion in turn leads to easier control from populists of the general populace. As a result, it is up to every one of us to always think critically when observing this phenomenon.\u00a0The\u00a0first step is being able to define it. The second is being able to explain this to others. This is a difficult task, as any cogent analysis can become either too academic or too niche to make a real impact. The real solution: cute cat gifs!
\nThe brainchilds behind\u00a0FOLLOWYOUR.PET<\/a>\u00a0are multidisciplinary artists Boris Eldagsen & Sabine Taeubner. Introducing their work, made with the help of prominent\u00a0theorists and activists, they write that “the internet is a field of political influence and propaganda.” As a result, they found a way to hack the system by using “web content that currently rates as the most popular: cute cat-gifs.” While it’s evident they are being slightly tongue-in-cheek, their “trojan cats” are a clever click-bait tactic to provoke necessary\u00a0discussion. Below are examples of some of their best gifs, with the accompanying\u00a0text. Firstly:<\/p>\n

Populist Strategies<\/h2>\n

 
\n\"populism\"<\/p>\n

“Consider the notion of a \u2018people\u2019<\/strong> that share similar values and needs. The people behave and represent the population\u2019s silent majority.”<\/p>\n

\n

\"populism\"<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“\u2018Trust no one, except us!\u2019<\/strong> Everyone who is against us is a traitor, directed by foreign forces or corrupt elites. This is especially true in the case of the opposition, the media and the do-gooders.”<\/p>\n

\"populism\"<\/p>\n

“Take over the State,<\/strong> for it belongs to the people! Take over the courts and the media, as they should serve the people. What about art and culture? It needs to glorify our people!”<\/p>\n

A Small Alphabet Of Demagogic Tools<\/h2>\n

\"populism\"<\/p>\n

“Declare a state of emergency<\/strong> the country is going downhill. Fuel fears to confirm your solutions.”<\/p>\n

\"populism\"<\/p>\n

“Divert strong negative emotions<\/strong> such as hate, envy, fear, anger and aggression to your own interests.”<\/p>\n

\"populism\"<\/p>\n

\u201cBe nationalistic<\/strong> Insist that your country is Number 1 and more worthy of protection than any other. This revaluation will instil confidence in the people and gratitude in return.”<\/p>\n

Why This Approach To Understanding Populism\u00a0Works<\/h2>\n

Think about it. Why did you click on this article in the first place? Was it because it was about populism, or because it was about cats? The point is that it doesn’t matter, but that you are here now. Nonetheless, the attention span of anyone on the internet can be extremely fast paced. I, for one, have several tabs open at the same time at any given time, sometimes flittering randomly between them. By combining one of the easiest forms of entertainment (cat gifs) with the serious issues of our age (populism), \u00a0FOLLOWYOUR.PET expertly wields the short-time frame\u00a0of the internet in order to change people’s perceptions and allow them to think for themselves. And with\u00a0all of the gifs easy to find and share<\/a>, we can get to work straight away.
\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Allow this series of cat gifs to educate you on just how populsim works and how to fight back<\/p>","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":43876,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11856,139],"tags":[7400,7401,5141,7402,994,6842,7403,7404,7405],"class_list":["post-43863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sleek-art","category-art","tag-cats","tag-democracy","tag-donald-trump","tag-gifs","tag-internet","tag-nationalism","tag-pets","tag-populism","tag-viral"],"acf":{"main_category":null,"legacy":"1","exclude_from_ads":null,"hero_title":null,"subtitle":null,"hero":null,"teasers":null,"facebook_image":null,"related_articles":null,"next_article":null,"sleek_card_focus":null,"content":null},"yoast_head":"\nPopulism Deconstructed By The Power of Cat Gifs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Confused about what populism really is? No worries, because now with the power of cat gifs you can finally see how it works and how to fight back\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/deconstructing-populism-gifs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Populism Deconstructed By The Power of Cat Gifs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Confused about what populism really is? 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This creativity manifests itself in SLEEK\u2019s quarterly print publication, digital and social media channels.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"de\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/deconstructing-populism-gifs\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/deconstructing-populism-gifs\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/deconstructing-populism-gifs\/\",\"name\":\"Populism Deconstructed By The Power of Cat Gifs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/deconstructing-populism-gifs\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-16T12:49:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-16T12:49:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1179704aa73e107e3defe552155253cf\"},\"description\":\"Confused about what populism really is? 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