KYM Review: Internet Outrages of 2015

Editor’s Note: This article is part of Know Your Meme’s annual Top Ten Review series looking back at some of the most memorable and popular memes, events and people that defined Internet culture in 2015 as we know it.

ith each passing year, it appears that polarizing controversies occur with an ever increasing frequency on the web. In the online advertising economy, rage-inducing content is Internet gold, and those that fan its flames are rewarded with oh-so-precious shares, clicks and pageviews. In this new age of tribal warfare, social media platforms are the new battlefields and blogs are the new war profiteers.

If there's anything we've learned from last year's Gamergate takeover, it's that identity politics can be counted on as a steady supply for the Internet's insatiable outrage addiction. With vicious arguments over weight loss advertisements, video game characters and even comic book covers, gender-related controversies are showing no signs of abatement.

On university campuses, students are clashing with faculty and each other about issues like cultural appropriation, microaggressions, trigger warnings and safe spaces, using the Internet to rally their forces and destroy their opponents.

In politics, the human meme Donald Trump managed to generate an enormous amount of media buzz by inciting outrage, most recently dominating headlines with statements about barring Muslims from entering the United States.

Let's take a closer look at some other events that caused a collective rise in blood pressure over the past year.

Reddit's Ellen Pao Saga

Reddit has seen its fair share of drama this year, including some intense clashes between the company and its passionate user base. In May, Reddit announced policy changes that led to the removal of several subreddits, most notably the /r/FatPeopleHate community known for mocking obesity and the fat acceptance movement. Many Redditors blamed the subreddit crackdown on then CEO Ellen Pao, who had recently lost a high profile gender discrimination lawsuit. Additionally, she was accused of attempting to turn the site into a "safe space", an environment typically found on college campuses that have seen a growing backlash from those who find them hostile toward opposing viewpoints and freedom of speech.

According to the Five Thirty Eight blog's Reddit N-gram viewer, mentions of Pao rose following the /r/FatPeopleHate ban in June and saw an enormous spike the following month after she resigned as CEO of the company.

Starbucks Red Holiday Cups

In early November, conservative Christian vlogger Joshua Feuerstein posted a video on Facebook criticizing Starbuck's new holiday cup design, claiming its lack of yuletide imagery was part of an ongoing war on Christmas. After blogs like Breitbart fanned the flames by claiming the design was "emblematic of Christian cleansing of the West," social media erupted with posts and memes mocking the controversy.

Interestingly enough, the The Daily Dot later reported that an analysis of tweets regarding the design found no evidence of Christians who were actually upset about the cups on Twitter. The phenomenon shares many similarities to the rise of #BoycottStarWars, which initially started with a handful of race-baiting tweets but became a worldwide trending topic when users posted their disapproval of the hashtag en masse.

Bahar Mustafa’s Racism Controversy

Since college campuses are clearly among the most politically polarized institutions in the West, it's no surprise that university drama contributed a significant portion to this year's Internet outrage. In February, the diversity officer Bahar Mustafa at the University of London's Goldsmith Students' Union came under fire for organizing events that excluded anyone who wasn't a "black and minority ethnicity" (BME) woman from attending, with some accusing her of promoting "racial segregation."

Additionally, critics called for Mustafa to be removed from her position for tweeting the hashtag "#killallwhitemen," while Mustafa and supporters claimed she was incapable of racism or sexism due to her status as an "ethnic minority woman." Mustafa was subsequently charged by United Kingdom authorities for posting #killallwhitemen in October, leading many of her former critics to protest the charges on Twitter with the hashtag #IStandWithBaharMustafa. Last month, Mustafa resigned from her post as diversity officer after being accused of bullying a colleague, claiming that she was leaving to preserve her "mental and physical health."

Rachel Dolezal’s Racial Identity Controversy

Arguably one of the more bizarre controversies to erupt this year involved the discovery that Rachel Dolezal, then president of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the NAACP, was a white woman masquerading as an African American. A particularly awkward interview released in June, in which Dolezal abruptly walks off camera when confronted about her racial identity, lead to an enormous public shaming campaign across the web.

While some defended Dolezal by arguing racial identity is a "social construct" that isn't based on biology, many accused her of being a dishonest con artist pretending to be black to further her career. In the aftermath, Dolezal resigned as president of the Spokane NAACP, lost her teaching job and her position on the Spokane's police accountability commission.

Daraprim Price Hike

It is very rare to witness an online controversy that isn't centered around warring political factions, but every once in awhile a villain appears that is almost universally disliked. Turing Pharmaceutical founder and CEO Marin Shkreli became the most reviled man on the Internet when it was revealed that he raised the price on the antimalarial medication Daraprim, often used to treat HIV-postive patients suffering from toxoplasmosis, to $750 from $13.50 per pill. Numerous image macros of Shkreli were circulated online, including more than a few Scumbag Steve examples.

In November, Turing Pharmaceuticals announced that it would not reduce the price of Daraprim, but planned on providing a 50% volume discount to hospitals. Meanwhile, Shkreli appeared in headlines once more after he won a $2 million auction for the sole copy of the hip hop album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin by the Wu-Tang Clan.

Kim Davis Marriage License Controversy

In August, Kentucky-based county clerk Kim Davis gained international notoriety for refusing to issue marriage licenses in defiance of same-sex marriage, claiming she was acting "under God's authority." After a judge ruled that her actions were unlawful, Davis was allowed to return to her position under the stipulation that she did not interfere with the issuing of marriage licenses. Online, Davis was widely mocked for her actions, leading to the creation of the Still Does the Job image macro series highlighting the professionalism of various fictional characters.

Planned Parenthood “Sells Parts” Controversy

It is conceivable that long after humanity has solved world hunger, colonized the galaxy and even transcended mortality itself, we will still be arguing about abortion. Back in July, a series of undercover videos were released by The Center for Medical Progress pro-life organization, in which actors discussed the harvesting of tissue and organs from aborted fetuses with officials from Planned Parenthood. While pro-life advocates argued that the videos provided evidence that Planned Parenthood was profiting off "selling parts," the organization dismissed the claims as dishonest and revealed that "full, appropriate consent from patients" was acquired for all tissue donations. In a tragic turn of events, a gunman killed two civilians and a police officer at a Colorado Springs clinic. After surrendering to police officers, he was heard rambling the phrase "no more baby parts," leading many to speculate the attack was motivated by the Planned Parenthood controversy.

Cecil the Lion’s Death

If there is one sure-fire way to incite the wrath of an angry Internet mob, it's cruelty to animals. In the Hwange National Park in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe, a 13-year-old lion named Cecil had become a beloved tourist attraction.

In July, Cecil's skinned and beheaded corpse was found on the outskirts of his habitat, which was immediately met with international public outcry. Later that month, it was revealed that Cecil had been killed by American dentist Walter Palmer from Bloomington, Minnesota, who reportedly paid upwards of $50,000 to guide Theo Bronkhorst to lure Cecil out of his home. Palmer was forced into hiding following the revelation, while his Yelp page was flooded with poor ratings, petitions were created for his extradition and even Jimmy Kimmel called for him to be brought to justice. In recent months, the Twitter feed for Palmer's dental practice posted several tweets mocking Cecil's death and protested a Halloween costume of Palmer being attacked by a stuffed lion.

Police Brutality Controversies

A number of incidents occurred this year in which police officers were accused of using excessive force, providing fuel to protest movements like Black Lives Matter. In April, a video was released showing North Charleston Police Department Officer Michael Slager fatally shooting South Carolina resident Walter Scott. Slager was later indicted on murder charges, facing between 30 years and life in prison. Also in April, Baltimore resident Freddie Gray died in police custody after being arrested for possessing an illegal switchblade knife. After a medical investigation found that Gray had been badly injured during transport in a police van, several officers were accused of intentionally driving erratically while Gray was unsecured in the back, a form of police brutality referred to as a "rough ride." The incident lead to an ongoing series of protests as a result, which spurred rioting, looting and burning of businesses in downtown Baltimore.

In June, a pool party in McKinney, Texas ended in a physical altercation between police officers and teenagers. A video of the incident showed a young black teen being forced to the ground by an officer, who then brandished his firearm at a group of unarmed black boys. While some members of the community claimed the incident was not racially charged, others accused the officer of using inappropriate force. In July, 28-year-old university administrator Sandra Bland was found dead in her prison cell three days after being arrested during a traffic stop. While the death was officially classified as a suicide, with an autopsy finding no evidence of a violent struggle, the hashtag #WhatHappenedtoSandraBland subsequently erupted on Twitter among those who suspected foul play.

Ahmed Mohamed’s Arrest

The Internet loves a good underdog, but it can turn on a dime if it suspects it has been tricked. When reports initially surfaced that 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed had been arrested at school for innocently bringing a home-made electronic clock, the Texas teen was immediately met with an outpouring of support. Many accused school officials and police of Islamaphobia due to Mohamed's Muslim faith, and he was extended an invitation to the White House by president Barack Obama.

Then, things began to take a different turn. Several Internet users argued that Mohamed had simply placed a prebuilt alarm clock into a pencil case, disputing claims that the device had been built from scratch. Others accused Mohamed of lying when he claimed to have built CPUs during an interview on the The Nightly Show. Even Richard Dawkins jumped into the fray on Twitter, where he argued the clock appeared to be a "hoax" and expressed his disappointment for being "fooled." In November, it was revealed that Mohamed's family sent letters to the city of Irving, Texas seeking $15 million in damages for causing their son "severe psychological trauma," leading many to accuse the family of being greedy and opportunistic.

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