Trump administration chases social media virality with pop culture memes

The Trump administration is embracing viral pop culture references to advance its political agenda online, a dramatic departure from past White House practices.

The posts, often shared as memes on the social media accounts of agencies from the Pentagon to the Energy Department, have tapped into cultural and political flashpoints, touching on everything from South Park to the controversial American Eagle advertisement featuring actress Sydney Sweeney.

The White House under President Donald Trump has long governed in an irreverent, controversy-courting way, fueled in part by the president's own freewheeling style, but the use of social media to amplify that message reflects how technology is shaping 21st-century politics.

"If you just contrast it with what the previous administration