Obama becomes target of racist memes on Russian social media
After outgoing President Barack Obama announced that the United States would be retaliating against Russia for the election hack, Russian social media was flooded with racist images of the president.
The racist memes depict the president as a monkey and include references to bananas as well as to defecating on the desk in the Oval Office. Additionally, an image is circulating of the president in makeup with a rainbow flag label, meant to imply that Obama is gay. They began to circulate online after Obama announced that he would be expelling 35 alleged Russian intelligence agents from the United States and would also be seizing two country compounds used by Russian diplomats.
— Obama sanctions Russians over presidential election hacking —Â
The racist memes began to circulate after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a happy new year message in which he wished president-elect Donald Trump as well as former president George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush well, but he pointedly left Obama out of the well-wishes.
In specifically addressing Obama’s actions in the wake of the hacking scandal, Putin said, “It is regrettable that the Obama Administration is ending its term in this manner. Nevertheless, I offer my New Year greetings to President Obama and his family.”
