The tone of a meme narrative determines whether its subject experiences fame or infamy

Evidence

Consider the tone of the meme. Zeddie Watkins Little of “Ridiculously Photogenic Guy” and Sammie Griner of “Success Kid” were memes who were “feel good” and celebratory in tone and did not tarnish the image or reputation of either person. While Kyle Craven of “Bad Luck Brian” and Tardar Sauce of “Grumpy Cat” were portrayed in a negative light, the tone of the meme narratives was humorous and both personalities responded favorably by personifying and extending the comedic value of the meme. However, the meme narrative accusing Heidi Yeh of deceit and vanity portrayed her in a negative light, to the point of slander when users could no longer separate the meme-generated humor from the advertisement’s intended wit. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 181

Categorization

• XREF: Directly usable for influencer typology; tone-differentiation parallels the fame-vs-infamy dynamics in celebrity studies and image-repair literature. — connects to: Internet virality can reward despised content as strongly as admired content — W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the…, 294
• ADDENDUM: Provides a useful fame/infamy contrast that complements the piece on immodesty moral panics by showing meme tone, not just dress codes, drives reputation outcomes.

Broader Connections

• Internet virality can reward despised content as strongly as admired content #contradicts (0.80) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 294