Politics1 min read

Ten years later, ‘Pokémon Go to the polls’ still haunts the internet

By · Via TechCrunch · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Hillary Clinton originally delivered the remark during a Virginia rally to link mobile apps, job creation, and voter turnout, but it quickly became an annual Election Day meme mocked across the political spectrum. In the decade since, political operations have fully embraced digital culture, routinely hiring meme managers and inviting podcasters to White House briefings. Meanwhile, broader online audiences increasingly view that period with nostalgia, as evidenced by a 790 percent surge in 2016-themed Spotify playlists.

Key points

  • Modern political campaigns have fully adapted to internet culture by hiring dedicated mem…: Modern political campaigns have fully adapted to internet culture by hiring dedicated meme managers and prioritizing digital creators.
  • Early campaign internet blunders served as precursors to present-day viral political mess…: Early campaign internet blunders served as precursors to present-day viral political messaging such as the Kamala is brat trend.
  • Users increasingly look back on 2016 with nostalgia to remember a digital landscape unbur…: Users increasingly look back on 2016 with nostalgia to remember a digital landscape unburdened by artificial intelligence and algorithmic feeds.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

In the lead-up to a presidential election that would irrefutably transform American culture, Hillary Clinton took the stage at a rally in Virginia as she campaigned to become the first female president.

“We’re going to have a lot of jobs — jobs from building infrastructure to coding. Creating new apps,” she said. “I don’t know who created Pokémon Go, but I’m trying to figure out how we get them to have Pokémon Go to the polls.”

Ten years later, it is once again Election Day in the United States. Now, most app developers aren’t even writing their own code anymore, thanks to AI, and Pokémon Go has been sold to a company wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. The only thing about that political moment that hasn’t changed is that “Pokémon Go to the polls” memes still crop up on every Election Day.

“It was very bold and confident, and also just sounded so terribly out of touch and corny,” Cesar Ruiz de Castilla, an elected ward committee member in Philadelphia, told TechCrunch. “I don’t know if the…

Politics