Pepe the Frog, a comic character used in internet memes, has been designed a “hate symbol” by the Anti-Defamation League.
The Anti-Defamation League is a civil rights organization that focuses on stopping anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry. The organization added Pepe the Frog to its Hate on Display database. This puts the meme in the same group as the swastika, blood drop cross and other images the group identifies as hate symbols.
In its post identifying Pepe the Frog as a hate symbol, the Anti-Defamation League said that the meme is “used by haters on social media to suggest racist, anti-Semitic or other bigoted notions.” The group’s Hate on Display database was created in 2000.
The Anti-Defamation League mentioned in its post that Pepe the Frog didn’t start out as a hate symbol. However, it claims that its use on forums such as 4chan, 8chan and Reddit have resulted in it being used for anti-Semitic memes.
“Once again, racists and haters have taken a popular Internet meme and twisted it for their own purposes of spreading bigotry and harassing users,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement. “These anti-Semites have no shame. They are abusing the image of a cartoon character, one that might at first seem appealing, to harass and spread hatred on social media.”
According to Know Your Meme, Pepe the Frog was created in 2005 by Matt Furie for his comic Boy’s Club. It wasn’t until 2008 that the character started to be used in memes on sites like 4Chan. Claims that the character was being used for anti-Semitic memes started in May of this year.
