Cult of Kek: Difference between revisions

'''Cult of Kek''' is an [[internet meme]] and [[Western esotericism|esoteric religion]] focused on worship of the ancient Egyptian frog god of [[darkness]], [[Kek (mythology)|Kek]].<ref name="SHADILAY">{{cite web|author=Tara Isabella Burton |url=http://reallifemag.com/apocalypse-whatever/ |title=Apocalypse Whatever |publisher=Real Life Mag |date=2017-02-14 |accessdate=2017-02-24}}</ref> Worshippers view the popular meme [[Pepe the Frog]] as a modern incarnation of the deity Kek.<ref name="SHADILAY"/><ref>https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2017/01/trump-supporters-outraged-by-slight-to-pepe-meme/</ref><ref>https://www.nextquotidiano.it/perche-piccione-viola-diventato-un-meme-destra/</ref> The religion has its origin on the internet message forum [[4chan]] and other chans, and the board [[/pol/]] in particular.<ref>http://www.thefader.com/2017/01/24/watch-shia-labeouf-yell-at-a-troll-who-interrupted-his-new-performance-art-piece</ref><ref>https://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/article/dalston-art-gallery-accused-of-promoting-fascism</ref><ref name="SHADILAY"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/trump-supporters-and-neo-nazis-are-using-secret-chat-rooms-t|title=Trump Supporters And Neo-Nazis Are Using Secret Chatrooms To Harass Shia LaBeouf|publisher=}}</ref> Kek worship is closely associated with the [[alt-right]]<ref>https://torrentfreak.com/steal-show-s02e02-platform-160913/</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://bullshit.ist/meme-magic-is-real-you-guys-16a497fc45b3 |title=Meme Magic Is Real, You Guys |publisher=Bullshit.ist |date= |accessdate=2017-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://forward.com/fast-forward/363558/in-elaborate-joke-internet-provocateurs-turn-trash-bird-into-nazi-icon/|title=In Elaborate Joke, Internet Provocateurs Turn ‘Trash Bird’ Into Nazi Icon|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/02/cpac_invented_an_alternate_history_of_the_alt_right.html|title=Alt-Right Facts|first=Michelle|last=Goldberg|date=23 February 2017|publisher=|via=Slate}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/02/23/cpac-organizer-denounces-alt-right-as-left-wing-fascist-group/|title=Alt-right leader expelled from CPAC after organizer denounces ‘fascist group’|publisher=}}</ref> and [[Donald Trump]].<ref>http://www.slate.fr/story/128864/4chan-victoire-donald-trump</ref><ref>http://thedailycougar.com/2016/11/02/alt-right-new-evolving-movement/</ref><ref>https://www.yahoo.com/news/what-alt-right-really-means-a-glossary-of-terms-201920005.html</ref><ref>http://gothamist.com/2016/12/08/daily_swastika_update_nyc_edition.php</ref> The Kek religion is [[nihilistic]] in nature, with a strong focus on [[chaos]] and the [[occult]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Author M. Ambedkar |url=http://baltimore-art.com/2017/02/11/the-aesthetics-of-the-alt-right/ |title=The Aesthetics of the Alt-Right |publisher= – Post-Office Arts Journal, Baltimore |date=2017-02-11 |accessdate=2017-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.byline.com/column/58/article/1372|title=Meet 'Kek', The Alt-Right's Anti-Semitic Hate God|first=Colin|last=Cortbus|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://conversations.e-flux.com/t/queer-occult-vs-alt-right-occult/5992|title=Queer occult vs. "alt-right" occult|publisher=}}</ref><ref>https://krautreporter.de/1705-alt-right-escape</ref><ref>http://www.agoravox.fr/tribune-libre/article/la-verite-sur-l-election-de-donald-187299</ref><ref name="Savitri"/>

== Origins ==

The phrase "kek" originated as a corruption of the phrase "lol" in the video game [[World of Warcraft]].<ref>http://www.dailydot.com/unclick/donald-trump-pepe-billboards-pennsylvania/</ref><ref>http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/4chan-facing-closure-after-running-out-money-martin-shkreli-could-be-saviour-kek-1584769</ref><ref>http://www.dailydot.com/unclick/wew-lad-meme/</ref> The phrase then became associated with the Egyptian deity of the same name.<ref name="SHADILAY"/><ref>https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2015/12/14/mosque-arson-suspect-left-social-media-hints-anti-muslim-anti-semitic-views</ref> The religion references the occultism of [[Savitri Devi]].<ref>https://scroll.in/article/823142/writings-of-french-hindu-who-worshipped-hitler-as-an-avatar-of-vishnu-are-inspiring-the-us-alt-right</ref><ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=-_7zmgEACAAJ&dq</ref><ref name="Savitri">https://thinkprogress.org/matt-furie-pepe-interview-efa344c50dfe</ref>

During the [[United States presidential election, 2016|2016 United States presidential election]], Kek worship became associated with [[alt-right]] politics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/in-charlottesville-gop-candidate-for-governor-corey-stewart-allies-with/article_211e1dbc-c324-5664-94d1-186aa24bb5d0.html|title=In Charlottesville, GOP candidate for governor Corey Stewart allies with alt-right-inspired blogger who wants to protect 'glorious Western civilization'|first=GRAHAM MOOMAW Richmond|last=Times-Dispatch|publisher=}}</ref><ref name="altright">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-37431509|title=Naked Nigel, the God Kek and modern politics}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.vocativ.com/377958/alt-right-richard-spencer/|title=Cucks & Kek: Racism’s Old Guard Reaches Out To An Online Generation}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=http://mancunion.com/2016/12/01/harambe-and-the-magic-of-memes/|title=Harambe and the magic of memes}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{cite web|url=http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/richard-spencer-trump-alt-right-white-nationalist|title=Meet the White Nationalist Trying To Ride The Trump Train to Lasting Power }}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{cite web|url=https://thinkprogress.org/matt-furie-pepe-interview-efa344c50dfe|title=The campaign to save Pepe the Frog}}</ref><ref name="auto4">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailydot.com/unclick/trump-rare-pepes-rain-frogs-meme/|title=Trump supporters unleash last-minute flood of rare Pepe memes in a 'rain of frogs' }}</ref>

Kek was proven definitively to exist when individuals associated with online message boards, such as [[4chan]], noted a similarity between Kek and the character [[Pepe the Frog]].<ref>http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/05/4chan-isnt-sure-whether-its-excited-the-times-wrote-up-its-antisemitism.html</ref><ref>https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2017/01/trump-supporters-outraged-by-slight-to-pepe-meme/</ref><ref>http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/cpacs-flirtation-with-the-alt-right-is-turning-awkward-w468748</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailydot.com/unclick/trash-dove-purple-bird-alt-right-meme/|title=The alt-right is trying to co-opt that dumb purple bird on Facebook|date=15 February 2017|publisher=}}</ref> This resulted in a resurgence of interest of the ancient deity, exemplified by the phrase "praise Kek".<ref name="auto5">{{cite web|url=http://motherboard.vice.com/read/trumps-occult-online-supporters-believe-pepe-meme-magic-got-him-elected|title=Trump’s Occult Online Supporters Believe ‘Meme Magic’ Got Him Elected}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jpupdates.com/2017/01/25/alt-right-troll-sabotages-shia-laboeufs-anti-trump-project/|title=Alt-right troll sabotages Shia LaBoeuf’s anti-Trump project -|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/trumps-occult-online-supporters-believe-pepe-meme-magic-got-him-elected|title=Trump's Occult Online Supporters Believe 'Meme Magic' Got Him Elected |last=Spencer |first=Paul |date=2016-11-18 |newspaper=[[Vice (magazine)|VICE Motherboard]] |access-date=2017-02-03}}</ref> The phrase is widely used by Kek worshippers as a mark of their faith in the cult.<ref>http://heatst.com/tech/4chan-trolling-shia-labeoufs-anti-trump-livestream/</ref><ref>http://heatst.com/entertainment/salon-frets-that-history-channels-vikings-will-be-co-opted-by-white-supremacists/</ref><ref name="SHADILAY"/> Kek worshippers will also occasionally refer to their god with the epitaph [[peace be upon him]],<ref>http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2017/01/09/russian-embassy-uk-tweets-pepe-frog-meme-upsets-sjw/</ref> an indicator of the complex syncreticism involved in the faith. The number of Kek worshipers began to increase in 2016, many of whom were also part of the [[alt-right]].<ref>http://jpupdates.com/2017/01/25/alt-right-troll-sabotages-shia-laboeufs-anti-trump-project/</ref><ref>http://forward.com/news/361175/watch-alt-right-disrupts-seemingly-clueless-shia-labeoufs-live-broadcast/</ref><ref>http://www.avclub.com/article/shia-labeoufs-live-stream-being-invaded-nazi-troll-248931</ref><ref name="altright"/><ref>https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/the-far-right-is-a-meme</ref><ref>https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/12/19/emerging-racists-challenge-covering-radical-right</ref> European researchers have identified 4chan users as worshiping Kek, who they believe to be the "god of [[memes]]".<ref>Hine, G. E., Onaolapo, J., De Cristofaro, E., Kourtellis, N., Leontiadis, I., Samaras, R., Stringhini, G., Blackburn, J. (2016, October 11). A Longitudinal Measurement Study of 4chan's Politically Incorrect Forum and its Effect on the Web. ''Social and Information Networks''. Retrieved October 14, 2016.</ref>

== Worship ==

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Kek is worshiped through repetition of the phrase "praise kek" and shrines devoted to his presence.<ref>https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1540893669</ref><ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=37fCDAEACAAJ&dq</ref><ref>http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/shia-labeouf-altercation-troll-article-1.2953961</ref>

[[Category:4chan]]