# Isis Crappy Collage Grand Prix > ISIS Crappy Collage Grand Prix was a January 2015 Japanese Twitter campaign where users flooded the hashtag with 220,000+ absurdist photoshopped edits, transforming ISIS propaganda into anime and surreal collages. ISIS Crappy Collage Grand Prix (#ISISクソコラグランプリ) was a massive Japanese Twitter campaign in January 2015 where tens of thousands of users responded to an ISIS hostage video by flooding the hashtag with absurd, mocking Photoshop edits of the footage. The movement turned ISIS propaganda imagery into anime scenes, Austin Powers references, and surreal collages, racking up over 220,000 uses of the hashtag within days[5]. It became one of the most notable examples of internet communities using humor as a form of resistance against terrorism. ## Origin On January 20, 2015, ISIS uploaded a video featuring "Jihadi John" standing between hostages Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa, both journalists clad in orange jumpsuits[2]. The militant demanded that Japan pay $200 million within 72 hours or the men would be executed[5]. Almost immediately, Japanese Twitter users created the hashtag #ISISクソコラグランプリ, which translates roughly to "ISIS crappy collage grand prix" or "ISIS crap Photoshop grand prix"[4]. The campaign kicked off on January 21, 2015, with users posting altered versions of the hostage video stills at a rapid pace[6]. The meme exploited the fact that the original video's desert background looked obviously composited. Users swapped the backdrop for anime settings, outer space, and cartoon scenes[5]. Jihadi John was edited into Dr. Evil from Austin Powers, a ninja, Mickey Mouse, and dozens of other characters[2]. The hostages were redrawn as anime characters in some versions, while others placed Kim Jong-Un laughing at the footage on a screen[2]. - **Platform:** Twitter (Japanese users) - **Creator:** Unknown (community-created by Japanese Twitter users) - **Date:** 2015 ## Overview The ISIS Crappy Collage Grand Prix was a coordinated act of creative trolling by Japanese internet users. After ISIS released a hostage video on January 20, 2015, showing a masked militant standing between two kneeling Japanese captives against a desert backdrop, users noticed the image appeared to be poorly composited using green screen technology[1]. Senior Japanese defense official Akira Sato publicly noted visual inconsistencies in the footage[1]. Japanese netizens seized on the obviously faked background to launch a Photoshop contest, editing stills from the video into increasingly ridiculous scenes. The hashtag format followed existing Japanese Twitter Photoshop contest conventions, similar to ones previously held for Final Fantasy XV[7]. ## How It Spread Within the first 24 hours, the hashtag had already been used over 50,000 times according to Al Jazeera[1]. Sky News reported 70,000 uses by January 21, citing analytics site Topsy[2]. Dazed Digital put the number at 75,000[6]. By January 22, Complex reported the count had exceeded 95,000[4]. Vice, citing data from Sysomos, documented over 220,000 total uses of the hashtag[5]. The campaign spread rapidly beyond Japanese-language Twitter. English-speaking users joined in after international media picked up the story. BuzzFeed News ran a piece titled "Japanese Social Media Users Are Protesting ISIS With 'Crappy' Photoshops And Memes," describing it as "what meme warfare looks like"[3]. Al Jazeera, Sky News, Dazed Digital, Vice, Complex, and Kotaku all published coverage within the first two days[1][2][6][5][4][7]. Japanese blog aggregators like Naver Matome compiled roundups of the best edits[7]. Popular Japanese site My Game News Flash reported that the Photoshops had allegedly angered ISIS members[7]. The meme also spread through Japanese discussion site Togetter, where some users collected both the edits and the debates around them[7]. ## How to Use The format followed a simple template: 1. Take a still from the ISIS hostage video showing Jihadi John standing between the two kneeling hostages 2. Photoshop the figures into an absurd, incongruous setting (anime scene, movie reference, cartoon, outer space) 3. Alternatively, replace the militant with a ridiculous character while keeping the hostages 4. Post with the hashtag #ISISクソコラグランプリ ## Cultural Impact The campaign sparked a sharp debate about the ethics of humor in the face of genuine danger. Two men's lives were actively at risk, and critics on both Japanese and English-language Twitter called the Photoshops insensitive and inappropriate[2][7]. Twitter user JB~kun wrote: "So here I was checking this hashtag and apparently some of the Japanese tweets are making fun of the whole thing. Japan pls"[2]. Japanese users on Togetter called the meme "imprudent" given the stakes[7]. Defenders framed it as an act of defiance. English-speaking Japanese website Tokyo Desu published a piece saluting "the Japanese netizens participating with the strict intent of de-powering ISIS through the power of humor"[6][4]. One widely shared tweet from user @jlist captured the spirit of the movement: "You can kill some of us, but Japan is a peaceful and happy land, with fast Internet. So you can go to hell"[5]. Another user, djvjgrrl, tweeted: "Tomorrow will be sad but it will pass and #ISIS will still be a big joke. You can't break our spirit"[2]. The Japanese government maintained a firm public stance throughout. Government spokesperson Yoshihide Suga told reporters: "Our country will not be intimidated by terrorism, and there is no change to our policy of contributing to the international community's fight against terrorism"[5]. The meme campaign ran parallel to this official response, functioning as an unofficial public counter-message. The event became a widely cited case study in how internet communities can use collective humor to undermine propaganda, particularly against groups like ISIS that relied heavily on the intimidation value of their media output[3][5]. ## Fun Facts - The hashtag format borrowed from existing Japanese Twitter Photoshop contest conventions. A similar "クソコラグランプリ" (crappy collage grand prix) had been run for Final Fantasy XV the previous year[7]. - Jihadi John's nickname was itself a pop culture reference to John Lennon, given to him by former prisoners who called his group of captors "the Beatles"[5]. - Some edits included messages in English specifically aimed at ISIS, including "STOP WAR NOT KILL WE ARE THE WORLD" and "A MESSAGE TO THE ISIS We Are Famill♥"[3][5]. - Al Jazeera covered the campaign but did not show any of the Photoshops due to its editorial policy against displaying ISIS-produced content[1]. - Taiwan's TV news picked up the story, noting the visual similarities between the original video and the Photoshopped versions[7]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is ISIS Crappy Collage Grand Prix? It was a January 2015 Japanese Twitter hashtag campaign (#ISISクソコラグランプリ) where users posted Photoshopped parodies of an ISIS hostage video, mocking the group's poorly composited footage with absurd edits[1][4]. ### Where did ISIS Crappy Collage Grand Prix come from? Japanese Twitter users created the hashtag on January 21, 2015, one day after ISIS released a video demanding $200 million for two Japanese hostages, Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa[2][5]. ### What does ISIS Crappy Collage Grand Prix mean? The Japanese hashtag #ISISクソコラグランプリ translates to "ISIS crappy collage grand prix" or "ISIS crap Photoshop grand prix," framing the mass Photoshopping as a tongue-in-cheek competition[4][6]. ### How do you use ISIS Crappy Collage Grand Prix? Users took stills from the ISIS hostage video and edited the figures into ridiculous scenarios, replacing backgrounds with anime scenes, movie references, or outer space, then posted with the hashtag[2][5]. ### Is ISIS Crappy Collage Grand Prix still popular? No. The campaign was tied to a specific January 2015 hostage crisis and died down after the immediate event. It is remembered as a notable example of meme-based resistance to terrorism[5][6]. ### Why did Japanese users mock the ISIS video? Japanese defense official Akira Sato publicly noted the video appeared to use a green screen with a fake background, and users seized on the poor production quality to undermine its intended intimidation[1][6]. ### How many times was the hashtag used? Estimates varied by source and timing. Al Jazeera reported 50,000+ uses, Sky News counted 70,000+, Complex cited 95,000+, and Vice reported over 220,000 uses based on Sysomos data[1][2][4][5]. ### Was the campaign controversial? Yes. Critics on both Japanese and English-language Twitter called it insensitive given that two hostages' lives were at stake. Others defended it as a deliberate act of defiance against terrorist intimidation[2][7]. ### What happened to the hostages? The meme campaign took place while the fate of Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa was still uncertain. Haruna Yukawa had gone to the Middle East after personal difficulties in Japan, while journalist Kenji Goto had traveled to Syria to help get him out[7]. ### Did the memes anger ISIS? Several Japanese blogs, including My Game News Flash, reported that the Photoshops had allegedly angered ISIS members, though this was difficult to independently verify[7]. ## References 1. [Japanese Tweeters mock ISIL hostage video | TV Shows | Al Jazeera]() 2. [Japanese Mock IS With 'Photoshop Grand Prix' | World News | Sky News]() 3. [Japanese Social Media Users Are Protesting ISIS With "Crappy" Photoshops And Memes]() 4. [Japan Is Using Photoshopped Imagery to Ridicule ISIS]() 5. [Japan Is Fighting ISIS with Super-Kawaii Tweets]() 6. [Why Japan is mocking ISIS with photoshopped Twitter memes | Dazed]() 7. [Under Construction sunnewsnetwork.ca]() 8. [Japanese Twitter Users Stand Up to ISIS with...a Photoshop Meme - Kotaku]() 9. [ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/isis-crappy-collage-grand-prix Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library