🥥 Axios PM: The meme election

Plus: 🦕 75-foot dinosaur skeleton | Thursday, August 15, 2024

Open in app View in browser   Presented By West Monroe   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Aug 15, 2024 Good afternoon. Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 531 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.     1 big thing: Campaigns ride the meme wave   Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Memes — viral snippets of a cultural moment — are defining the 2024 presidential election cycle, Axios Communicators author Eleanor Hawkins writes. Why it matters: In a fragmented media landscape, memes still find a way to transcend constituencies, shape narratives and forge connections. 🥥 State of play: Since launching her presidential bid last month, Vice President Harris has been the benefactor of "brat summer," "femininomenon," celebrity content and countless coconut memes. Former President Trump's supporters, meanwhile, have circulated the fist-pump image following July's assassination attempt, and they've embraced Hulk Hogan's viral "Trumpmania" moment from the RNC. 🖥️ The intrigue: Republican operatives have long contended that the left can't meme — take for example, the "Dark Brandon" memes that often fell flat. But this time around, Democrats seem to have the edge. The "Laffin' Kamala" memes being pushed by the right have not seen as much engagement as the "brat" and "coconut tree" memes, which developed more organically — and only after Harris replaced President Biden on the ticket. "They're finally letting us do fun things again," one Democratic digital strategist said. Go deeper ... Get Axios Communicators.     2. ⚖️ 5 charged in Matthew Perry's death   Federal prosecutor Martin Estrada speaks during a press conference today, announcing arrests in the death of "Friends" actor Matthew Perry, in Los Angeles. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images Five people, including two doctors, have been charged in connection with actor Matthew Perry's death last year from a ketamine overdose. Perry's personal assistant was also charged and has pleaded guilty. He gave Perry multiple ketamine injections on the day he died, per AP, and discovered his body. The amounts of ketamine in Perry's system at the time of his death were roughly in line with the quantities used for general anesthesia during surgery. Perry struggled with addiction dating back to his years on "Friends," and prosecutors said the five defendants "took advantage of Mr. Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves." Go deeper.     A message from West Monroe The new role humans play in the age of AI     New research from the University of Chicago shows that AI can more accurately predict a company's earnings than humans — except during an economic crisis. The story: Humanity's role in the digital age is changing — one of five Tech Trends to Watch from West Monroe. Get smart on the trends.     3. Catch me up   Sen. JD Vance speaks at a campaign rally today in New Kensington, Pa. Photo: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images 🎤 Both vice presidential candidates — JD Vance and Tim Walz — have agreed to a debate on Oct. 1, hosted by CBS News. Go deeper. ⏳ A year after former President Trump was indicted for election interference in Georgia, three of the four cases against him have either been dismissed, put on ice or undercut. Go deeper. 🌀 Hurricane Ernesto is steadily intensifying as it moves toward Bermuda, where it could produce waves large enough to damage cruise and container ships. Go deeper.     4. 🦕 Re-creating a dinosaur   Photo: Craig Cutler/National Geographic This stitch of five images shows a dinosaur skeleton that's 75 feet long, weighs about 5 tons and has been painstakingly coming together for almost 20 years. The reconstruction will be on display beginning this fall at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. 🦴 Researchers caught their first glimpse of this fossil — a single exposed leg bone — in 2007, National Geographic reports in a fascinating blow-by-blow account of how the reconstruction, named Gnatalie, came together. They spent years carefully digging out the rest of the skeleton, making artificial molds of bones that were either missing or damaged, casting the whole thing together and getting it ready for display. "You're playing pick-up sticks with a bunch of dinosaur bones," Alyssa Bell, one of the museum's paleontologists, told National Geographic. "They're all tangled and locked together." Dig in.     A message from West Monroe AI isn't the only game-changing trend in 2024     Leaders may be consumed with AI, but they can't afford to fall behind on other technology trends shaping the future of business. What you need to know: A new report from West Monroe explores synthetic data's potential, the techno-optimism vs. techlash debate and more. See what's ahead.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Advertise with us. Axios, PO Box 101060, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: