ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Pepe the Frog: From Innocent Meme to Alt-Right Icon

other · 2026-04-27

Matt Furie created Pepe the Frog in 2005 for his comic 'Boy's Club' on MySpace. The character's phrase 'Feels good, man!' became a viral meme on platforms like 4chan and Infowars. By 2016, Pepe had been co-opted by the alt-right and white supremacist movements, playing a role in Donald Trump's presidential election. Rare Pepe NFTs were sold for up to $100,000, and a cryptocurrency called PEPECASH was created. Furie launched legal actions against misappropriators, including Alex Jones, who paid $15,000 in 2019. In 2017, Furie published a comic depicting Pepe's funeral. The documentary 'Feels Good Man,' directed by Arthur Jones and winner of the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker at Sundance, will be released on September 4. The article also mentions Mike Diana, the first American cartoonist convicted for obscenity due to his fanzine 'Boiled Angel,' and the 2018 documentary 'Boiled Angels: The Trial of Mike Diana.'

Key facts

  • Pepe the Frog was created by Matt Furie in 2005 for the comic 'Boy's Club' on MySpace.
  • The character's phrase 'Feels good, man!' became a viral meme on 4chan and Infowars.
  • Pepe was co-opted by the alt-right and white supremacist movements during the 2016 US presidential election.
  • Rare Pepe NFTs were sold for up to $100,000, and a cryptocurrency called PEPECASH was created.
  • Matt Furie sued Alex Jones for misappropriation, resulting in a $15,000 settlement in June 2019.
  • Furie published a comic in 2017 depicting Pepe's funeral.
  • The documentary 'Feels Good Man' directed by Arthur Jones won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker at Sundance.
  • Mike Diana was the first American cartoonist convicted for obscenity due to his fanzine 'Boiled Angel'.
  • The documentary 'Boiled Angels: The Trial of Mike Diana' was released in 2018.

Entities

Artists

  • Matt Furie
  • Mike Diana
  • Valerio Veneruso

Institutions

  • MySpace
  • 4chan
  • Infowars
  • Sundance Film Festival

Locations

  • Columbus
  • New York
  • Florida

Sources