11 Minor-League Memes From Reddit's 'Special Snowflakes'

Contrary to popular belief, not just anybody can create a meme. It takes skill. It takes grit. It takes creativity, determination, artistry and a passionate faith not only in the message you mean to meme, but in yourself as a memer. Memers aspiring to share their work on /r/dankmemes, one of Reddit's most famous and influential subreddits, must first accumulate a certain amount of karma on the subreddit /r/SpecialSnowflake, where they audition for a seat at social media's grown-up table.

Some of the meme creators you see represented here are dank and destined for the big leagues. Others… not so much. But if you’ve ever been curious about how the meme sausage gets made, here you are: a behind-the-scenes look at the way one of the world’s most influential meme outlets performs quality control.