The Brief: A new meme features a photo of a farmer saying "it ain't much but it's honest work."

Bluesquiggle
DEEP DIVE

It ain’t much but it’s honest work

This image macro of an overall-clad farmer standing in front of a field is particularly popular on the Dank Memes subreddit. The farmer represents a wholesome and humble attitude. His image and the caption are often paired with a description of internet labor which often can seem futile. Many variations of the meme include references to Reddit’s upvote/downvote system for ranking and drawing traffic to posts. However, this format is quite exploitable and can be used as a reaction image for a variety of situations. Some posts joke about getting credit for even the smallest efforts because they are “honest work.” Part of the irony in variations of this meme lie in the contrast between what “honest work” may look like for a rural farmer vs. an online meme-maker.

I do my part from r/dankmemes

Originally made this for the Instagram page from r/dankmemes

These are not the days for honest men. from r/dankmemes

Proud af😤 from r/dankmemes

New meme format from r/dankmemes

I do my part from r/dankmemes

A true warrior never gives up from r/memes

And now you have the annoying song stuck in your head from r/dankmemes

mom i’ve learned the whole day please let me look at memes from r/dankmemes