Paper short abstract:

The subject of this paper is the content and qualitative analysis of internet memes on the Slavorum Facebook page during the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Paper long abstract:

The subject of this paper is the content and qualitative analysis of internet memes on the Slavorum Facebook page during the global Covid-19 pandemic. According to the official/about section, this page is dedicated to various kinds of information related to Slavic cultural and geographical space. In addition, members post various amateur multimedia content, most often of a humorous character, on a daily basis. Memes that are posted, shared, and commented on the page during the pandemic can be grouped into two basic types. Members post photoshopped photos of funny everyday situations dedicated to ways of coping with social isolation and quarantine, how ordinary people conceptualize coronavirus prevention and which folk remedies they use. Also, members share altered globally popular memes adapted to fit the local cultural context and concerns. The main characteristic of the visual photoshopped humor on Slavorum page is the essentialist approach to Slavic identity – Slavic culture is presented as a homogeneous entity, and memes shared on page are built on we : them dichotomy, mainly based on widespread ethnic stereotypes and balkanistic discourse. In the comment section, these digitally altered images become the trigger for the (re)creation of new memes, furthering the discussion, which is often accompanied by different personal memories of members, their life stories, and other short narratives. In this paper, we will show how this imagined laughing community, in strategically subverting negative stereotypes through self-mockery humorous practices, created a nostalgic space conducive to negotiating identities and ambivalent memories from the past communist regimes.