Pepe the Frog

Feels bad, man.

Pepe the Frog began his life innocently enough in 2005, as a laid-back amphibian in Matt Furie's underground comic Boy's Club. In one panel, Pepe pulled his pants down to urinate, explaining with a serene smile: "Feels good man." It was weird. It was wonderful. It was about to become something no one could have predicted.

By 2008, the image had migrated to 4chan, where Pepe became a vessel for every human emotion. Sad Pepe. Smug Pepe. Rare Pepes traded like digital Beanie Babies. The frog transcended his origins to become the unofficial mascot of the internet's id—a blank canvas for whatever feeling you needed to express.

Pepe peaked in 2014-2016, appearing on the social media accounts of Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj, beloved by millions who knew nothing of his origins. He was everywhere. He was everything.

And then 2016 happened.

The alt-right claimed Pepe as their own, plastering him with swastikas and MAGA hats. What had been an innocent meme became, in the words of the ADL, a hate symbol. On September 27, 2016, the Anti-Defamation League officially added Pepe to their hate symbol database. Hillary Clinton's campaign website ran an explainer on Pepe's alleged white supremacist connections. The meme that once meant "feels good man" now meant something much darker.

Matt Furie fought back. He launched #SavePepe campaigns, sued InfoWars, and even symbolically killed Pepe in a 2017 comic strip funeral. But the damage was done. Posting Pepe in polite company became a minefield.

Pepe lives on in some corners of the internet, reclaimed by those who remember what he once was. But the innocent frog who just wanted to feel good? That Pepe is gone.

Feels bad, man. Feels real bad.