Pepe the frog is dead (but who was he anyway?)

Elon Musk took a new pseudonym on X and chose “Pepe the frog” to illustrate his profile photo. A choice that is not neutral. A look back at the journey of the Internet's most famous frog.

Sour name may mean nothing to you, and yet: “Pepe the frog” is the most famous frog on the Internet. A little despite herself, to be honest. Because it all started in a completely banal way for this singular character. Its birth dates back to 2005, when the cartoonist Matt Furie launched (first on his MySpace blog, then in the pages of an eponymous comic strip, which he published episodically) the “Boy's Club”, a small group of strangely deformed figures, with very wide mouths and bulging eyes. The kind that hangs around all day, cracking dirty jokes and eating pizza — not really for kids, then. Among them, a green frog with a human appearance, a relaxed temperament and a joker: Pepe.

Nothing too bad, then… At least until 2008, when the character joined the 4chan forum, known for its lack of moderation and from which data leaks of all kinds regularly emanate. This becomes a “meme”, a viral phenomenon; Internet users divert it in all directions. Little by little, his popularity skyrockets; Pepe now has his own social media accounts. In 2015, without us really knowing why, the recovery became political: “Pepe the frog” was taken up, modified and shared by far-right activist networks. More precisely by the American “alt-right”, this “alternative” American right (understand: conspiratorial, supremacist, racist, anti-Semitic, etc.), which makes the funny green frog its emblem. To the point that it very quickly becomes impossible to use Pepe freely — unless you want to project the image of an active member of the fascist sphere.

From the phenomenon seen en masse on the internet – which remains harmless and politically insignificant – to the rallying symbol of nationalist “trolls”, the symbolism of the character changes radically. It even includes the list of hate symbols established by the Anti-Defamation League, an American “anti-defamation” NGO which fights anti-Semitism. We make him wear Nazi armbands, we add Donald Trump's hair, then that of Marine Le Pen… And the American president himself is delighted about it.

Hence this radical decision, to say the least, taken by Furie last weekend: to put an end to Pepe's existence. Using a single clear drawing, posted on his Tumblr page, the designer represented, this Sunday, May 7, Pepe lying in a coffin, his eyes closed. If this symbolic death will not prevent Pepe's image from being used (probably for a long time) by the far-right, it was at least, for Furie, an effective means of rehabilitating his character. As the specialist site Comic Book Resources explains, “with his death, Pepe's soul returned to his creator. Rest in peace. »

This article was originally published in 2017.