Matt Furie was horrified when white nationalists began using his cartoon character Pepe as an alt-right tool of hate and division. In an interview with the New York Times, Furie revealed how Pepe became a tool of bigotry; and described how he is working to reduce tensions by reinserting Pepe back into mainstream consciousness.
Furie first debuted his creation, Smug Pepe, in his 2005 comic Boy’s Club as a large-mouthed green amphibian with a smug expression who quickly became the symbol of Internet culture. Social media users soon adopted him as an emoticon to express their feelings or make jokes; users would post pictures with various expressions such as “Smug Pepe,” and its variations to express themselves or make fun of something that had happened or make fun of someone.
Furie helped increase Pepe’s fame through his work as an illustrator, and eventually it made an appearance beyond just online media platforms, such as street art culture and Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protest movement last summer – where bootleg Pepes and knockoff products can often be found for sale at open air markets in Hong Kong. Pepe was also popular across America and Europe where it has become a symbol for anti-Trump protesters or refugees seeking asylum – becoming an iconic image used as rallying symbols against Trump supporters or asylum seekers respectively.
Pepe first gained recognition on 4chan’s image-sharing forum for political debate, where users began creating memes containing Pepe that made use of his signature smile to provide humorous reactions to news articles or online arguments. These memes became known as Pepe reworks, quickly spreading around the site before becoming mainstays by 2008.
Even though most of these reworks were harmless, some were inappropriate and used as dog whistles for the fascist online group known as the Alt-Right. Reworks featuring images of Pepe with offensive language or racist caricatures quickly spread through other online forums before eventually infiltrating Pepe’s public persona.
Furie was shocked to see his creation being used by hate groups as an expression of bigotry and division, so he attempted to stop its misuse by filing suit against Infowars over their posters featuring Pepe. Though the settlement out of court only represented a fraction of profits earned from selling posters featuring Pepe, Furie made clear his refusal for it to be exploited in this manner anymore.
Since then, Furie has been working to reincorporate Pepe back into mainstream culture in a more positive light. His website showcases some of the best Pepe reworks as well as links for donations to charities that fight hate and intolerance; users can even create and share their own reworks!