The Week in Memes: June 7th, 2019

In this week's meme news, Kyle drank all the internet's Monster Energy, Nintendo sparked off a wave of Pokémon discussions with their latest Direct event, HBO's Chernobyl mini-series radiated across the web, the #VoxAdpocalypse drew out the culture warriors, while "Me and the Boys" hung out in nearly every major platform.

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The Pokémon: Sword and Shield Direct

When Wednesday’s Nintendo Direct about the upcoming Pokemon Sword and Shield game dropped, the subsequent wave of memes was inevitable. The fifteen-minute stream barely finished before images and fan art of the new Pokémon, characters and mechanics exploded across the web. The most popular characters were the adorable sheep Pokémon Wooloo and Sonia, a red-haired woman who instantly became fans' new waifu.

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HBO's Chernobyl

Memers online wasted no time creating memes about HBO's historical drama miniseries Chernobyl. Many took to mocking the character Anatoly Dyatlov, based on the actual deputy chief-engineer of the ill-fated nuclear power plant, while other took to lewding the exposed reactor core anthropomorphized as Core-chan.

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Kyle

This internet character, depicted as every Monster Energy-drinking, angsty, overly-aggressive male teenager you ever met, soared in popularity thanks to a viral sketch by comedian Trevor Wallace. Known for having a bizarre obsession with punching holes in drywall, Kyle is the poster boy for teens insecure with their masculinity.

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#VoxAdpocalypse

After Vox journalist Carlos Maza accused conservative YouTuber Steven Crowder of online harassment by mocking his sexual orientation and ethnicity, YouTube initially responded by stating Crowder would not be punished as he did not violate any site guidelines. Following a wave of criticism from Maza and his colleagues on Twitter, YouTube decided to demonetize Crowder's channel, leading the hashtag "#VoxAdpocalypse" to trend among those who felt Maza was starting a new wave of ad restrictions on the video-sharing platform.

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Me and the Boys

As the clear top dog of the week, a screenshot mischievous-looking 60's Spider-Man villains spawned an avalanche of image macros across the entire web, depicting the characters as easily amused, silly teenagers who can't seem to stay out of trouble.

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