Do you know about shitposting? It's cheap humour, rage bait - and now, it seems, US government policy

Do you know about shitposting? It’s cheap humour, rage bait – and now, it seems, US government policy
Robert Topinka
Donald Trump’s White House reveals a new ‘portrait’ of Joe Biden – and in his world, if you don’t laugh, the joke’s on you
Thu 2 Oct 2025 06.31 EDT


On 24 September, a White House communications adviser posted a video on X of a new presidential Walk of Fame, captioned: “Wait for it”, with a pen and eyes emoji. The video pans over a succession of presidential portraits to reveal – in place of Joe Biden’s portrait – a framed photograph of an autopen signing his name. The sight-gag references the Maga conspiracy theory that, unbeknownst to “Sleepy Joe”, unscrupulous aides used the autopen to sign pardons in his name. The post delighted supporters and outraged critics, which only further delighted supporters.

And that was precisely the point. This combination of cheap humour and rage bait is the province of the shitpost, a genre of low-effort social media content designed to amuse insiders and annoy outsiders. Like so much of internet culture, shitposting was pioneered on the message board 4chan – but Donald Trump is a natural. On the 12th anniversary of 9/11, he tweeted: “I would like to extend my best wishes to all, even the haters and losers, on this special date, September 11th.” The shitpost forces a choice: undermine public decorum by laughing along, or get offended, outing yourself as a hater and a loser.

The deliberate impropriety of the shitpost makes good-faith engagement impossible. Like a children’s game of made you look, responding means either sinking to the level of the shitpost or looking ridiculous by responding earnestly to a low-effort provocation, which only proves the shitpost has had its intended effect.

Refusing to abide by discursive norms can signal a refusal to abide by political norms. After Trump dubbed him “Low Energy” Jeb Bush during the 2016 Republican primaries, the more professorial younger brother of George W Bush made the mistake of arguing that he was, in fact, dynamic and busy, as if Trump were making a political claim that could be contested. But this was nicknaming as shitposting. Instead of clever metaphors, Trump’s nicknames are low-effort direct literalisms. From “Little Marco” Rubio to “No Talent” Jimmy Kimmel, their purpose is not to make a substantive claim or offer an accurate description of reality, but to titillate allies and bait enemies.

Unencumbered by the establishment strategists who urged decorum during his first administration, Trump has elevated shitposting to a national strategy in his second term. Two days before the Walk of Fame announcement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a video of masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents hauling civilians into unmarked vans, cut to the opening credits of the Pokémon television series. As the theme song’s refrain has it: “Gotta Catch ’Em All”.

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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/02/shitpost-us-white-house-trump-joke