Memeing a conspiracy theory: On the biopolitical compression of the great replacement conspiracy theories

Abstract

Based on a digital ethnography on the imageboard platform 4chan/pol, this article traces the biopolitical compression of Population Replacement Conspiracy Theories into memes, which have populated far-right boards in the last decade. The article makes an argument for the relevance of studying the relation between the intellectual elaboration of Conspiracy Theories and their compression into concise and easily consumable memes, by fleshing out the functionality of memes in the argumentative economy of Conspiracy theories, (a) as encoding and compressing their core components; (b) by filling in the (unspoken) gaps in the logic of Conspiracy theories; and (c) by advancing a biopolitical understanding of social life.