Members of online forum boards dedicated to President Donald Trump and far-right ideologies have called for the "next meme war," this time against CNN. The call to arms is retaliation for allegations that the cable network blackmailed a Reddit user into publicly apologizing for creating a pro-Trump GIF that depicted Trump tackling a man who had a CNN logo superimposed on his face, and removing his hateful posts on these message boards. [...]

A post on 4chan explained what the latest meme war, titled "Operation: Autism Storm," would entail. The operation's primary focus, according to the post, would be to produce "as many anti-CNN memes as possible and spreading it" to high traffic websites beyond the fringe. The call to arms also urged participants to "discredit every journalist at CNN," and to target CNN's advertisers to stop them from advertising on the network.

In the days after the article was published and 4chan and Reddit users called for meme warfare, "#CNNBlackmail" was a top trending topic on Twitter. The contingent of pro-Trump internet wizards also overran numerous boards on Reddit and 4chan with images attacking CNN's credibility. Infowars editor-at-large Paul Joseph Watson suggested that CNN may have reunited "the alt-right & the new right in a common cause" after a prior rift among the "alt-right" factions.

This potent group of like-minded internet campaigners repeatedly proved their ability to organize and operate extremely effective smear campaigns during the 2016 election. According to an entry on Encyclopedia Dramatica, one of the most notable moments in "The Great Meme War" was the group's viral portrayal of former presidential candidate Jeb Bush as a weak and sad "stinking turtle-lover with a guacamole fetish." This characterization of "low energy" Bush cast him as a man unable to withstand what meme creators referred to as "high-energy" Trump. The Encyclopedia Dramatica entry also credited the same organized effort to push "a stream of new and fearsome dank memes," featuring "Pepe the Frog" after the Anti-Defamation League classified the character as a hate symbol.

Fringe far-right media figures have also noticed the potency of these groups, and have used their platforms to encourage their followers to participate in the effort to spread the anti-CNN memes to larger audiences. Infowars' Alex Jones has even launched an anti-CNN meme contest, promising a $20,000 reward for the "best meme" he receives. Alternative right-wing media figures such as online personality KimDotcom, Infowars contributor and internet troll Mike Cernovich, and even the president's son Donald Trump Jr. have used their platforms to spread anti-CNN rhetoric and images alongside those leading the online meme brigades.