Harris’s ‘brat’ summer: How memes can juice a campaign

When Kamala Harris was confirmed as the new Democratic party nominee, a host of celebrities rushed to endorse her – but one has garnered significantly more attention than the others. Singer Charli XCX endorsed Harris in her signature minimalist way by posting “kamala IS brat” on X.

The post went viral almost instantly, with millions of views, and Harris’s own X account switching its colors to neon chartreuse – the shade of the album cover for Charli’s new album, Brat.

The internet thrives on novelty and inside jokes. That’s partly why memes – a fairly middle-aged phenomenon that first originated in the 1990s – are still going strong, while we’ve long seen the back of Bebo, Vine and Clubhouse. (What are those, you ask? My point exactly).

The popularity of memes means they have become an important vehicle for political communication. In my research, I have identified four roles of memes: political mindbombs, fast-food media, everyday slang and a soothing device. Charli XCX’s endorsement of Kamala Harris is a perfect “political mindbomb.”

The term “political mindbomb” was coined by the co-founder of Greenpeace, Bob Hunter, who claimed that a powerful visual message can cut through the noise and affect the minds of people – not immediately, but in the long run.

He used the example of a photo of a bleeding whale trying to escape a hunting ship. He sent the heartbreaking picture to media outlets to affect the minds and feelings of readers all over the world, and hopefully encourage them one day to vote or protest against whaling.

When Kamala Harris was announced as “brat”, the suit-wearing, experienced and sharp vice-president received a gift of vibes, rather than something concrete. Charli XCX’s posting a serious paragraph