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The Mueller report meme game has been strong on the internet

The internet quickly latched on to jokes related to redactions, and some poked fun at the report’s biggest players

Media films a few pages of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election which was printed out by staff in the House Judiciary Committee's hearing room on Thursday, April 18, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Media films a few pages of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election which was printed out by staff in the House Judiciary Committee's hearing room on Thursday, April 18, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

The highly anticipated release of the Mueller report prompted a hefty dose of partisan debate, but it also flooded the internet with hilarious memes.

The internet quickly latched on to jokes related to extended information blackouts scattered throughout the report, and meme fabricators poked fun at high-profile individuals intimately involved in the investigation.

Here are some of our favorites: 

Page 30 doubles as an album cover

This page of the report is completely blacked out with redactions, and @paulxt on Twitter was worried the band Radiohead might use it as an album cover.

Indie band royalty Radiohead made numerous political statements with their music, particularly on their 2003 record “Hail to the Thief.” But the monochromatic imagery of page 30 looks strikingly similar to the artwork for the band’s 2016 single “Burn the Witch.”

Cynical Goodreads community reviews

Several users have rated and written a review of The Mueller Report by US GOVERNMENT on the book cataloging website Goodreads. Reviewers critiqued the report’s character development as if it were a novel, and decried the amount of missing material.

User Matthew Alampay Davis rated the report one star and asserted, “The previous owner used a black highlighter on all the interesting bits and the main character has no redeeming qualities.”

Another user, Lisa, also rated the report one star.

“The main character is a danger to the world, but ultimately gets away with his crimes as many supporting characters support his terrible behavior,” she wrote.

Crowdfund the investigation

What if Robert Mueller funded the special counsel’s investigation through Patreon, an online, subscription-based crowdfunding service?

A wry piece posted on satirical culture website The Hard Times declared that Mueller will release a fully unredacted version of the report to his Patreon subscribers, along with some added goodies for those willing to shell out some extra cash.

“The full report will be available to all Patreon tier levels, but the highest tier subscribers will receive some FBI swag and a limited edition Mueller Report mug,” The Hard Times joked. 

 Rod Rosenstein’s lifeless stare 

His face turned to stone when the spotlight flashed on him during a joint morning press conference with Attorney General William Barr. The Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein gazed into the cameras with a wide-eyed stare. He hardly blinked for the entirety of Barr’s nearly 25-minute presser. A few reporters at the Washington Post chided Rosenstein’s lack of enthusiasm.

Redacted Tweets

Journalists are withholding portions of their tweets using the “Tweetbot” application and emojis.

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