TIME

How the Internet is getting a little nicer, one meme at a time

Earnest, uplifting memes have surged in popularity since the 2016 election

LATE LAST YEAR A PHOTO OF A forlorn-looking Kermit the Frog began circulating on Twitter. With his knees tucked to his chest, head hung low, the scene invited the kind of mocking irreverence that has come to define much of Internet culture. “When you show people a movie you love AND THEY DON’T PAY ATTENTION,” read one caption. “When ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ is playing and you

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