Internet meme as a mechanism for forming public opinion about political phenomena

The authors examine the Internet meme as a mechanism for forming public opinion in the political space, analyze its genesis and give its functional characteristics. The specifics of the qualitative characteristics of the Internet meme are determined, the features of the political Internet meme and the possibilities of its application are revealed. The constructive and destructive potential of using a political Internet meme in election campaigns are revealed, when forming the image of political figures and constructing the image of the enemy. The mechanisms of the influence of the political Internet meme on the people’s political consciousness are considered, the specifics of the structure of the political meme influence on the political attitudes and preferences of internet users are revealed. The analysis of examples of the use of political Internet memes in political campaigns is carried out and the attributive properties of Internet memes are determined, which determine the new qualitative characteristics of the modern Internet meme.