Here’s a lesson that will forever be remembered now: If someone has had multiple rape accusations leveled against them over the course of a decade, perhaps they should think twice before asking the internet to form a meme around their personality.
Actor Bill Cosby learned
that lesson the hard way this week, when he posted a picture of
himself on Twitter and asked users to “meme” him.
Of course, the entire thing backfired spectacularly.
#CosbyMemepic.twitter.com/xBZoDGi75H
— jujoffer (@jujoffer) November
10, 2014
Soon after Cosby’s tweet went live, the #CosbyMeme hashtag was flooded with critical posts.
The original goal was surely to generate light, wholesome fun,
but instead the posts that ended up making the most noise
featured allegations that Cosby raped numerous women over the
past few decades.
One tweet showed the famed actor and Jello spokesman wearing
headphones, featuring by the sentence: “Now I can’t hear you say
‘no.’”
I can’t hear you. #CosbyMemepic.twitter.com/gvL9BRZGep
— Sean Campbell (@Melanism) November
10, 2014
Another pointed out that more than a dozen women have accused him
of sexual assault.
How’s this @BillCosby? pic.twitter.com/SKQMGkqKjl
— Henster (@Soft_Serve) November
10, 2014
At some point during the whole fiasco, user-generated memes ended
up having to go through an authorization process. According to
the New York Post, the meme generator even
started deleting words like “rape” and “sex” when they were used.
But dedicated users still found clever ways around the obstacle.
According to the New York Post, Cosby’s original tweet was
deleted and the meme generator it linked to was removed entirely.
Cosby meme generator tweaked the text parser. Good for them.
#cosbymeme#nomorerapejokespic.twitter.com/7r1izxC4bW
— Hendrik Busse (@Hendrik_Busse) November
11, 2014
The burst in Twitter activity was followed by a Washington Post op-ed in which Barbara Bowman
reiterated her rape accusations against Cosby. She also
questioned why her allegations were not taken seriously until a
man – comedian Hannibal Buress – called Cosby a rapist during a
routine last month. That piece quickly went viral and brought the
issue into the headlines all over again.
“I’ve been telling my story publicly for nearly 10
years,” Bowman wrote. “While I am grateful for the new
attention to Cosby’s crimes, I must ask my own questions: Why
wasn’t I believed? Why didn’t I get the same reaction of shock
and revulsion when I originally reported it? Why was I, a victim
of sexual assault, further wronged by victim blaming when I came
forward?”
For his part, Cosby has denied the charges against him. In a 2005
interview with U-T San Diego, the actor said
he refused to be “exploited” because he is a celebrity.
.@russbengtson@BillCosby Top of the
mornin to ya. pic.twitter.com/O09sZYbUQJ
— Pete Forester (@pete_forester) November
10, 2014
Source Article from http://rt.com/usa/205367-bill-cosby-rape-meme-twitter/
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