The 2015 nationwide referendum in Poland memes

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze memes associated with the nationwide referendum of 6 September 2015 in Poland. The memes are treated as part of the media discourse. Media discourse encompasses part of public discourse. In the broad sense, we are dealing with a collection of statements functioning in the public space and concerning a specific problem or its scope. There will be analyzed memes connected such issues as the reason/reasons for ordering the referendum, referendum questions, the financial costs incurred, and the referendum turnout. The article is divided into two parts: 1) theoretical consists of mem and referendum definition; 2) practical consists of the 6 September 2015 referendum in Poland in memes analyse. In the course of the research such questions will be answered: whether the memes became part of the general overtone of the discourse; whether they presented the main themes of the discourse and how they did this; which elements of the discourse were emphasized in the memes and which were omitted. In the research process the main themes of the discourse were distinguished, which were reflected in the memes.