http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/18/us/campaign-aims-to-help-pepe-the-frog-shed-its-image-as-hate-symbol.html 2016-10-17 14:34:40 Campaign Aims to Help Pepe the Frog Shed Its Image as Hate Symbol The Anti-Defamation League, which had added the cartoon image to its list of hate symbols, is working with Pepe’s creator to reclaim its image on social media. === A group that fights anti-Semitism hopes to rehabilitate the image of a cartoon frog that was co-opted and became associated in social media with racism and bigotry. Less than a month ago, the group, the Anti-Defamation League, added the cartoon figure, The group announced on Friday an experiment to try and reform the image, working with its creator, Matt Furie, who will create “a series of positive Pepe memes and messages” to be promoted on social media with the hashtag #SavePepe. “Pepe was never intended to be used as a symbol of hate,” Jonathan A. Greenblatt, chief executive of the group, said in a Pepe the Frog The image has surfaced in the presidential race as Donald Trump Jr., a son of the Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump, It was even used by the nominee himself in a post a year ago on Twitter: Mr. Furie said in a column in In the news release, he added: “The true nature of Pepe, as featured in my comic book, ‘Boys Club,’ celebrates peace, togetherness and fun. I aim to reclaim the rascally frog from the forces of hate and ask that you join me in making millions of new, joyful Pepe memes that share the lighthearted spirit of the original chilled-out champion.” Oren Segal Remaking Pepe by encouraging others to share positive images is a “bit of unchartered territory for us,” he said. The group’s database of more than 150 hate symbols includes others that started out with neutral connotations and were then co-opted. This is the first time the league is trying to reclaim such an image. The group will probably measure how many postings the positive Pepe messages gain before considering whether to remove it from the database, Mr. Segal said. “We’re going to see how this plays out,” he said. “We hope to save Pepe.”