XPost: sci.lang, alt.usage.english

On 27/06/2025 15:58, Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:

Right from the beginning, the publication of The Selfish Gene in 1977, I
have not felt that "meme" was Richard Dawkins's happiest invention, and
it's a term I never use. Nonetheless, I have a clear idea of what it
means. Very recently, however, I've started to see it used to mean just
about anything. For example, the Norwegian who was denied entry to the
land of the free when a examination of his telephone revealed an
unflattering cartoon of the vice-POTUS that was reported as a meme. Is
that what "meme" means nowadays? If so, why?

Short Ans: i suppose it was never [reported as a meme]

He claimed that he was denied entry because of a Meme on his phone.


________________________


A 21-year-old Norwegian tourist named Mads Mikkelsen claimed he was denied entry to the United States at Newark Liberty International Airport after U.S. border officials examined his phone and found an unflattering meme of Vice President JD
Vance. The meme reportedly depicted Vance as a bald or chubby baby, and Mikkelsen believed this was the reason for his exclusion. His story gained traction in Norwegian and international media.

However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security have publicly refuted this claim. They stated that Mikkelsen was denied entry not because of the meme, but because he admitted to past drug use during
questioning—a reason that can legally bar entry under U.S. immigration law. Officials emphasized that "political reasons" or the meme itself played no role in the decision.

In summary:

Mads Mikkelsen, a Norwegian tourist, alleged he was denied entry due to a meme of Vice President JD Vance found on his phone.

U.S. officials deny this, stating the actual reason was his admitted drug use, not the meme or its political content.

________________________________


Mads Mikkelsen, the Norwegian tourist, admitted to U.S. border authorities that he had experimented with marijuana—specifically, he disclosed having used marijuana once in Germany and once in Mexico. Although he believed this was irrelevant
because marijuana was legal in those countries, U.S. officials cited his acknowledged drug use as the reason for denying him entry, since marijuana remains prohibited at the federal level in the United States

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