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Pepe the Frog (/ˈpɛpeɪ/) is a cartoon character and Internet meme created by cartoonist Matt Furie. Designed as a green anthropomorphic frog with a humanoid body, Pepe originated in Furie's 2005 comic Boy's Club.[2] The character became an Internet meme when his popularity steadily grew across websites such as Myspace, Gaia Online, and 4chan in 2008. By 2015, he had become one of the most popular memes used on 4chan and Tumblr.[3] Different types of Pepe memes include "Sad Frog", "Smug Frog", "Angry Pepe", "Feels Frog", and "You will never..." Frog. Since 2014, 'rare Pepes' have been posted on the 'meme market' as if they were trading cards.[4][5][6]
Originally an apolitical character, Pepe was appropriated from 2015 to 2016 onward as a symbol of the alt-right movement.[7][8][9] The Anti-Defamation League included Pepe in its hate symbol database in 2016, but said most instances of Pepe were not used in a hate-related context.[10][11] Since then, Furie has expressed his dismay at Pepe being used as a hate symbol and has sued organizations for doing so.[12]
In 2019, Pepe was used by protesters in the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. Despite being used in a political context, Pepe the Frog's use in Hong Kong is not perceived as being connected with alt-right ideology. Furie has welcomed the use of Pepe by Hong Kong protesters.
Pepe remains a recognizable and familiar sight on social media platforms such as 4chan, Twitch, Reddit, and Discord, where images are modified into custom Pepe-based emoji.
