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Emma Grey Ellis covers memes, trolls, and other elements of Internet culture for WIRED.
Bizarre Photoshops of the first family are typically more internet game than political commentary. When President Obama's daughters attended their first state dinner in 2016, a photographer snapped a photo of Sasha chatting with Ryan Reynolds while Malia flashed her a thumbs up in the background. This too became a meme, but it didn't really mean anything besides … thumbs up. Ditto President George W. Bush struggling with a poncho at President Trump's inauguration. The people involved were political figures, but the meme only conveyed derpy dishevelment. #UnwantedIvanka doesn't work like that.If you try to find meaning in individual #UnwantedIvanka memes, you'll be disappointed. The joke is always "one of these things is not like the others." But there is something to be gleaned from the broader oeuvre of memes around Ivanka Trump. Just about every one the internet has come up with—Trump gazing longingly at Trudeau at the White House, Trump's expression while meeting the Pope, Trump coming to the Capitol to exchange an awkward hug with Senator Marco Rubio—could have been an #UnwantedIvanka meme. They all look sideways at her place on the world stage. Many times, private citizens and the press have questioned whether Trump's role in the White House is appropriate. Many times, President Trump has insisted on her competence and qualifications, no matter what. Objections from pundits have proved fruitless.President Trump is the one copy-pasting his daughter into history. Twitter's just joining in.- The infrastructure mess causing countless web outages
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