You All Made Dank Memes: Using Internet Memes to Promote Critical Thinking

In the time following the 2016 presidential election, much has been written about the spread of false information on social media websites. Given the potential influence false information has had on American politics, it is more important than ever for people to critically evaluate the content they view and share on social media. This article describes an activity that encourages students to develop evidence based arguments and think critically about content shared on social media. In the activity, students are asked to generate an internet meme related to U.S. politics and write a short essay defending the position they have taken in the meme. This article explains how the activity can promote critical thinking and includes suggestions for future implementation.