Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Stash

2015Facebook meme group / political image macrosclassic

Also known as: BSDMS · The Stash

Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Stash is a 2015 Facebook meme group founded by Will Dowd and Sean Walsh, featuring viral "Bernie or Hillary?" comparison image macros supporting Sanders' political campaigns.

Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash was a Facebook group created in October 2015 by college student Will Dowd and author Sean Walsh to support Sanders' presidential campaign through internet memes2. The group grew to over 417,000 members and popularized viral formats like the "Bernie or Hillary?" comparison posters, becoming one of the most prominent examples of meme-driven political engagement during the 2016 and 2020 election cycles2. In June 2020, admins renamed the group "So You Decided To Fuck Around," declaring it had moved beyond its original purpose2.

bernie sanders memespolitical satire memesfacebook memes2016 memespresidential memes

Overview

Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash (often abbreviated BSDMS) was a user-submitted Facebook meme community dedicated to promoting Sanders through humor4. Members created image macros, Photoshopped images, and short videos, frequently editing Sanders into pop culture contexts like rap album covers or pairing him with existing internet meme formats2. The group's moderators aimed for positive, pro-Sanders commentary and banned content that was racist or consisted of personal attacks against other candidates, though enforcement was inconsistent, particularly with sexist memes targeting Hillary Clinton2. The name itself was a deliberate play on "dank memes," internet slang for high-quality or ironic humor, and Dowd said almost no coordination went into the content creation process. The community was essentially self-organizing2.

Will Dowd, a college student, and Sean Walsh, an author, created the Facebook group in early October 2015 with the explicit goal of supporting Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign2. From the start, the group operated on user-submitted content. Members posted their own creations as commentary on Sanders and his campaign, editing the politician into pop culture imagery and layering him onto established meme templates2. While predominantly based on Facebook, content from the group quickly spread to Reddit, Tumblr, and Twitter2.

Origin & Background

Platform
Facebook
Key People
Will Dowd, Sean Walsh
Date
2015

Will Dowd, a college student, and Sean Walsh, an author, created the Facebook group in early October 2015 with the explicit goal of supporting Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. From the start, the group operated on user-submitted content. Members posted their own creations as commentary on Sanders and his campaign, editing the politician into pop culture imagery and layering him onto established meme templates. While predominantly based on Facebook, content from the group quickly spread to Reddit, Tumblr, and Twitter.

How It Spread

The group's biggest viral moment came on January 28, 2016, when Reddit user ObviousPlant posted a series of 12 fake campaign posters comparing Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton on absurd, apolitical topics. The posters depicted Sanders as genuinely knowledgeable about subjects like Radiohead and lizards while Clinton gave generic, politician-style answers. ObviousPlant posted them to Tumblr, Reddit, and Imgur with the caption "Left in the streets of Los Angeles," and the Reddit post in r/pics hit 550 points with 97% upvotes while the Tumblr post collected over 38,000 notes within days.

The easy-to-Photoshop format spread rapidly through the Dank Meme Stash group, which had over 79,000 members at the time. Members filled in new topics and generated fresh candidate answers, with the most popular edits gaining over 300 likes each inside the group before spreading into general newsfeeds. Twitter users also picked up the format, with New York Magazine collecting and covering the best versions.

On February 10, 2016, the group popularized another meme when member Maddi Epping, a slam poet from Des Moines, Iowa, screenshotted a Clinton campaign email with the subject line "I'm not kidding, Maddi" and posted it to the group. The phrase became a trending topic across social media and got picked up by news outlets. The group also helped spread the Ted Cruz Zodiac Killer joke, which became one of the most persistent political memes of that election cycle.

By April 2016, the group was large enough to be briefly affected by a Facebook-wide suspension of Sanders-related groups. When Sanders formally conceded the nomination and endorsed Clinton on July 12, 2016, the community split on whether to back Clinton or go elsewhere. The group peaked at approximately 417,147 members by May 2018, though the admin and moderator team had thinned to just 15 people by that point.

Sanders' 2020 presidential run brought renewed activity. By October 2019, the group had about 394,448 members. The "Bernie or Hillary?" comparison format also saw revival, now featuring Sanders against Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, and Joe Biden. But in June 2020, admins renamed the group to "So You Decided To Fuck Around," announcing that "the stash has progressed beyond the need for Bernie Sanders". By November 2020, the group was inaccessible on Facebook, though the associated Facebook page still had over 273,000 followers as of 2023.

How to Use This Meme

The group's most famous export, the "Bernie or Hillary?" comparison poster, follows a simple format:

1

Create a two-column layout with Bernie Sanders on the left and another candidate on the right

2

Pick a pop culture topic, something completely non-political like a band, movie, food, or hobby

3

Give Sanders the "correct" or deeply knowledgeable answer that sounds like a real fan talking

4

Give the opponent a clueless, corporate, or painfully out-of-touch response

Cultural Impact

The group drew significant press coverage from outlets across the media spectrum. Vice wrote that the memes "transcend the traditional media coverage" and called them "explanatory, deconstructive, self-aware, and incendiary". Fortune described the group as "ready-made to go viral" with memes that were "hilarious, if incongruent." Electronic musician Steve Aoki called it "eternally entertaining." Yahoo Politics ranked it the second-largest of eighteen major Facebook groups dedicated to Sanders.

The group also crossed into the art world. On February 12, 2016, new media artist Matt Starr organized "Weekend with Bernie," an exhibition at Wayfarers Gallery in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The show featured Ryder Ripps' installation "Faces of Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Stash," which consisted of live Skype video chats with group members displayed as art. Canadian producer Ryan Hemsworth contributed a painting of rapper Lil B depicted as Sanders. The exhibition raised over $10,000 in donations to the Sanders campaign.

The Dank Meme Stash helped establish Facebook groups as a legitimate vehicle for grassroots political meme campaigns, a model later imitated by supporters of other candidates across the political spectrum.

Fun Facts

The abbreviation BSDMS was frequently noted for its resemblance to BDSM, a connection the group's fans treated as a running joke.

At peak size, the group had over 417,000 members managed by only 15 admins and moderators.

Dowd said almost no coordination went into meme creation; the entire operation was essentially self-organizing.

The "Weekend with Bernie" art exhibition in Brooklyn turned live Skype calls with group members into a gallery installation.

The group briefly survived Sanders' 2016 loss, grew through his 2020 run, and then deliberately abandoned the Sanders brand in June 2020.

Derivatives & Variations

Bernie or Hillary? comparison posters

— Created by ObviousPlant on January 28, 2016, these fake campaign posters comparing candidates on absurd topics became the group's most viral format and spread well beyond Facebook[3].

Ted Cruz Zodiac Killer meme

— The joke casting Ted Cruz as the Zodiac Killer became a political meme staple of 2016, popularized in part through the group[2].

"I'm not kidding, Maddi"

— A Clinton campaign email subject line that became a trending social media topic after group member Maddi Epping screenshotted and shared it on February 10, 2016[2].

Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Singles

— A spin-off dating group founded by Beth Hannah of Havre, Montana, where members posted memes alongside personal ads and selfies. It had over 9,900 members and 20 administrators by February 22, 2016[2].

Frequently Asked Questions

Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Stash

2015Facebook meme group / political image macrosclassic

Also known as: BSDMS · The Stash

Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Stash is a 2015 Facebook meme group founded by Will Dowd and Sean Walsh, featuring viral "Bernie or Hillary?" comparison image macros supporting Sanders' political campaigns.

Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash was a Facebook group created in October 2015 by college student Will Dowd and author Sean Walsh to support Sanders' presidential campaign through internet memes. The group grew to over 417,000 members and popularized viral formats like the "Bernie or Hillary?" comparison posters, becoming one of the most prominent examples of meme-driven political engagement during the 2016 and 2020 election cycles. In June 2020, admins renamed the group "So You Decided To Fuck Around," declaring it had moved beyond its original purpose.

bernie sanders memes political satire memes facebook memes 2016 memes presidential memes

Overview

Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash (often abbreviated BSDMS) was a user-submitted Facebook meme community dedicated to promoting Sanders through humor. Members created image macros, Photoshopped images, and short videos, frequently editing Sanders into pop culture contexts like rap album covers or pairing him with existing internet meme formats. The group's moderators aimed for positive, pro-Sanders commentary and banned content that was racist or consisted of personal attacks against other candidates, though enforcement was inconsistent, particularly with sexist memes targeting Hillary Clinton. The name itself was a deliberate play on "dank memes," internet slang for high-quality or ironic humor, and Dowd said almost no coordination went into the content creation process. The community was essentially self-organizing.

Will Dowd, a college student, and Sean Walsh, an author, created the Facebook group in early October 2015 with the explicit goal of supporting Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. From the start, the group operated on user-submitted content. Members posted their own creations as commentary on Sanders and his campaign, editing the politician into pop culture imagery and layering him onto established meme templates. While predominantly based on Facebook, content from the group quickly spread to Reddit, Tumblr, and Twitter.

Origin & Background

Platform
Facebook
Key People
Will Dowd, Sean Walsh
Date
2015

Will Dowd, a college student, and Sean Walsh, an author, created the Facebook group in early October 2015 with the explicit goal of supporting Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. From the start, the group operated on user-submitted content. Members posted their own creations as commentary on Sanders and his campaign, editing the politician into pop culture imagery and layering him onto established meme templates. While predominantly based on Facebook, content from the group quickly spread to Reddit, Tumblr, and Twitter.

How It Spread

The group's biggest viral moment came on January 28, 2016, when Reddit user ObviousPlant posted a series of 12 fake campaign posters comparing Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton on absurd, apolitical topics. The posters depicted Sanders as genuinely knowledgeable about subjects like Radiohead and lizards while Clinton gave generic, politician-style answers. ObviousPlant posted them to Tumblr, Reddit, and Imgur with the caption "Left in the streets of Los Angeles," and the Reddit post in r/pics hit 550 points with 97% upvotes while the Tumblr post collected over 38,000 notes within days.

The easy-to-Photoshop format spread rapidly through the Dank Meme Stash group, which had over 79,000 members at the time. Members filled in new topics and generated fresh candidate answers, with the most popular edits gaining over 300 likes each inside the group before spreading into general newsfeeds. Twitter users also picked up the format, with New York Magazine collecting and covering the best versions.

On February 10, 2016, the group popularized another meme when member Maddi Epping, a slam poet from Des Moines, Iowa, screenshotted a Clinton campaign email with the subject line "I'm not kidding, Maddi" and posted it to the group. The phrase became a trending topic across social media and got picked up by news outlets. The group also helped spread the Ted Cruz Zodiac Killer joke, which became one of the most persistent political memes of that election cycle.

By April 2016, the group was large enough to be briefly affected by a Facebook-wide suspension of Sanders-related groups. When Sanders formally conceded the nomination and endorsed Clinton on July 12, 2016, the community split on whether to back Clinton or go elsewhere. The group peaked at approximately 417,147 members by May 2018, though the admin and moderator team had thinned to just 15 people by that point.

Sanders' 2020 presidential run brought renewed activity. By October 2019, the group had about 394,448 members. The "Bernie or Hillary?" comparison format also saw revival, now featuring Sanders against Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, and Joe Biden. But in June 2020, admins renamed the group to "So You Decided To Fuck Around," announcing that "the stash has progressed beyond the need for Bernie Sanders". By November 2020, the group was inaccessible on Facebook, though the associated Facebook page still had over 273,000 followers as of 2023.

How to Use This Meme

The group's most famous export, the "Bernie or Hillary?" comparison poster, follows a simple format:

1

Create a two-column layout with Bernie Sanders on the left and another candidate on the right

2

Pick a pop culture topic, something completely non-political like a band, movie, food, or hobby

3

Give Sanders the "correct" or deeply knowledgeable answer that sounds like a real fan talking

4

Give the opponent a clueless, corporate, or painfully out-of-touch response

Cultural Impact

The group drew significant press coverage from outlets across the media spectrum. Vice wrote that the memes "transcend the traditional media coverage" and called them "explanatory, deconstructive, self-aware, and incendiary". Fortune described the group as "ready-made to go viral" with memes that were "hilarious, if incongruent." Electronic musician Steve Aoki called it "eternally entertaining." Yahoo Politics ranked it the second-largest of eighteen major Facebook groups dedicated to Sanders.

The group also crossed into the art world. On February 12, 2016, new media artist Matt Starr organized "Weekend with Bernie," an exhibition at Wayfarers Gallery in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The show featured Ryder Ripps' installation "Faces of Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Stash," which consisted of live Skype video chats with group members displayed as art. Canadian producer Ryan Hemsworth contributed a painting of rapper Lil B depicted as Sanders. The exhibition raised over $10,000 in donations to the Sanders campaign.

The Dank Meme Stash helped establish Facebook groups as a legitimate vehicle for grassroots political meme campaigns, a model later imitated by supporters of other candidates across the political spectrum.

Fun Facts

The abbreviation BSDMS was frequently noted for its resemblance to BDSM, a connection the group's fans treated as a running joke.

At peak size, the group had over 417,000 members managed by only 15 admins and moderators.

Dowd said almost no coordination went into meme creation; the entire operation was essentially self-organizing.

The "Weekend with Bernie" art exhibition in Brooklyn turned live Skype calls with group members into a gallery installation.

The group briefly survived Sanders' 2016 loss, grew through his 2020 run, and then deliberately abandoned the Sanders brand in June 2020.

Derivatives & Variations

Bernie or Hillary? comparison posters

— Created by ObviousPlant on January 28, 2016, these fake campaign posters comparing candidates on absurd topics became the group's most viral format and spread well beyond Facebook[3].

Ted Cruz Zodiac Killer meme

— The joke casting Ted Cruz as the Zodiac Killer became a political meme staple of 2016, popularized in part through the group[2].

"I'm not kidding, Maddi"

— A Clinton campaign email subject line that became a trending social media topic after group member Maddi Epping screenshotted and shared it on February 10, 2016[2].

Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Singles

— A spin-off dating group founded by Beth Hannah of Havre, Montana, where members posted memes alongside personal ads and selfies. It had over 9,900 members and 20 administrators by February 22, 2016[2].

Frequently Asked Questions