This paper takes a look at how the online platforms 9GAG and Imgur used the phenomenon
the Canada Convoy Protest to discursively structure the political ‘left’ and the ‘right’ using memes. The
paper delves into the complexities of discerning truth in a time where truth has become
contested by a multitude of actors, and by different constructs of reality altogether.
The paper considers how the discursive structuring occurring on the platforms in relation to
how they impact on our ability to imagine ideologically opposed groups within the frame of
democracy as being either legitimate or illegitimate actors.
Topics such as post-truth, new conspiracism, echo chambers and filter bubbles, and memes are
all employed to uncover the dynamics behind the structuring of the discourse surrounding of the
‘left’ and the ‘right’ on the platforms, as seeing the constructions of reality through these
topics reflect the complexity of our times, as well as reflect the dizzying task it is for
individuals to discern the true from the untrue. To deal with such complexities a multimodal discourse analysis has been developed to facilitate
an analysis of the chosen data that encompasses the new modes of communication that take
place on the platforms.