The Brief: As tensions rise between the U.S. and Iran the internet is coping via dark humor and World War 3 memes.
DEEP DIVE
After a U.S. airstrike killed Iranian Major General Qassim Suleiman, Iran promised “forceful revenge” as retaliation and the U.S. is deploying thousands of troops to the Middle East. Amidst this news are World War III memes about the potential for this to culminate in the next world war.
#WWIII Trending On Twitter
Trending Twitter hashtags related to this topic include #WWIII, #TrumpsWar, #WagTheDog2020, #NoWarWithIran2020 and others. Many jokes related to this topic are based on the possibility of a draft being instated and young Millennials and Zoomers being recruited to fight.
me tryna get a pic for the gram outside my house after it just got bombed #WWIII pic.twitter.com/5lQMHMdxc1
— MJ💥 (@mujeebk14) January 3, 2020
me purposely calling immigration on myself before #WWIII starts pic.twitter.com/njxhcaI5Q5
— amyy (@amycollado3) January 3, 2020
Me forgettting to pull my string on my parachute#WWIII pic.twitter.com/c0IWkD3opx
— just life (@justlif35779191) January 3, 2020
When you click to see the news but the only thing you see see is #WWIII memes pic.twitter.com/8tE0QJXrL3
— BackingTrack (@GodBlessPanda) January 3, 2020
Those Fortnite skills might come in handy…
ninja when he starts getting shot at during #WWIII pic.twitter.com/EfAgwGVlAP
— zanite (@JackZanite) January 3, 2020
the United States is about to enter world war 3 and Justin beiber releases a song called “yummy” bro could you seriously not have waited for a better time
— Beans After Dark (@goodbeanalt) January 3, 2020
January 1st: “2020 gonna be my year”
January 3rd:
#WWIII pic.twitter.com/1rYVxaD2ep— riv (@eriv00) January 3, 2020
A WW3 rendition of the TikTok Obsessed challenge:
TikTok boys when they are captured and told if they are entertaining they get to live #WWIII pic.twitter.com/Ue1JA1lXha
— Bitchy (@annoying_cuntx) January 3, 2020
Twitter: Preparing for #WWIII
Instagram: "Which Shrek 3 character are you?"— Liz, A Soft Ghost (@liz_lawlz) January 3, 2020
They can't impeach you if you start the apocalypse…#Iran#TrumpsWar#WWiii pic.twitter.com/rM7k1nnF1c
— J. C. Young (@WriterJCYoung) January 3, 2020
World War III Reddit Memes
On Reddit, meme-makers Are joking about draft-dodging, similarities between current events and the beginnings of the first two world wars, and how video game skills could equip young soldiers with strange combat techniques.
A me and the boys meme:
Some Area 51 raiders still haven’t given up…
Season 02???? from dankmemes
Heh heh boy from HistoryMemes
Whaaa from PoliticalHumor
World War 3 memes are yet another example of people dealing with serious existential topics via comedy and internet humor. While few of these memes dive into the root issues surrounding this current international escalation, they may provide some relief from the disturbing and disheartening headlines of the current news cycle.