Feb 6, 2017

The top Super Bowl emoji was an alt-right frog symbol

Sara Fischer

The green frog emoji was the most-used emoji during Super Bowl 51, according to social analytics company Blend.

What does it mean? The emoji symbolizes Pepe the Frog, a popular internet cartoon that became a symbol of the Alt-right conservative movement in early 2016. Pepe used to be a mascot for 4chan.com, an image-posting website, used mostly for memes, linked to Internet subcultures like Anonymous and the Alt-right movement. In 2016, the Anti-Defamation League added Pepe the green frog to its database of hate symbols, alongside the swastika and the KKK blood cross.

Why it matters: The Alt-right social movement has been using the momentum of highly-publicized national events to further their message, but the effectiveness has peaked since Trump's inauguration. According to Blend President Matt Geiger, this is an ongoing trend with no sign of slowing down. "We've seen the Pepe frog emoji show up in basically every single national event since Trump was Inaugurated," Geiger told Axios. "The frog has been used more than all of the other animal emojis combined since Trump's Inauguration."

Worth mentioning: Blend also found that the rainbow emoji, a symbol for gay rights and activism, was the most used emoji during the Super Bowl 51 halftime performance. Lady Gaga sang "Born this Way" at halftime, a song about being accepted regardless of your sexuality or gender.

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Rebecca Falconer

In photos: How the coronavirus outbreak is impacting on daily lives

A woman receives a rose delivered to her via a drone in Lebanon's coastal city of Jounieh. Photo: Joseph EidAFP via Getty Images

The novel coronavirus pandemic is having a huge impact on the lives of people around the world.

The big picture: The first known case outside China was in Thailand on Jan. 13. Since then, global infection numbers have surged, and governments around the world have responded with measures designed to curb the spread of the virus — ranging from lockdowns to physical distancing enforcement. There were more than 723,000 confirmed COVID-19 infections by early Monday, per Johns Hopkins data). However, life hasn’t stopped because of the pandemic, but it has changed. Here's how.

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Axios

World coronavirus updates: Global death toll surpasses 34,000

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens and confirmed plus presumptive cases from the CDC

The novel coronavirus has now killed more than 34,000 people and infected over 723,000 others globally, per Johns Hopkins data. Italy reported more than 10,700 deaths early Monday.

The big picture: Governments around the world have stepped up public health and economic measures to stop the spread of the virus and soften the financial impact. In the U.S., now the site of the largest outbreak in the world, President Trump said Sunday that his administration will extend its "15 Days to Slow the Spread" guidelines until April 30,

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Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 1 a.m. ET: 722,435 — Total deaths: 33,997 — Total recoveries: 151,991.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in cases. Total confirmed cases as of 1 a.m.. ET: 142,502 — Total deaths: 2,506 — Total recoveries: 4,856.
  3. Federal government latest: President Trump says his administration will extend its "15 Days to Slow the Spread" guidelines until April 30.
  4. Public health updates: Fauci says 100,000 to 200,000 Americans could die from virus.
  5. State updates: Louisiana governor says state is on track to exceed ventilator capacity by end of this week — Cuomo says Trump's mandatory quarantine comments "panicked" some people into fleeing New York
  6. World updates: Italy on Sunday reports 756 new deaths, bringing its total 10,779. Spain reports almost 840 dead, another new daily record that bring its total to over 6,500.
  7. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk
  8. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

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