It is hard to believe that a green, bug-eyed frog who likes to pee with his pants around his ankles became a central figure in a global conversation about hate speech. But here we are. Honestly, the story of Pepe the Frog is one of the weirdest cultural car crashes of the 21st century.
You’ve probably seen him. He’s everywhere. Sometimes he is "Sad Pepe," sometimes he is "Smug Pepe," and for a very dark period starting around 2015, he became Pepe the Frog Nazi.
But how? How does a chill stoner frog from an indie comic book end up in the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) database of hate symbols alongside the swastika? It wasn’t an accident. It was a deliberate, coordinated effort by internet trolls to "poison the well."
The Birth of a "Feels Good Man" Icon
Before the lawsuits and the political rallies, Pepe was just a character in a comic called Boy’s Club. Created by artist Matt Furie in 2005, Pepe was a "chill frog dude." He lived with three other animal roommates, and they basically just hung out, played video games, and ate pizza.
The most famous panel—the one that started it all—involved Pepe being caught peeing with his pants all the way down. His explanation? "Feels good man."
That was it. That was the whole vibe.
By 2008, the "Feels Good Man" image migrated to 4chan. For years, it was just a way for people to express a sort of laid-back, "gross-but-happy" feeling. Then came "Feels Bad Man," the sad version. Pepe was the internet's Everyman. Even celebrities like Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj were posting him.
But for the original users on 4chan, this mainstream attention was a problem. They didn't want "normies" using their frog.
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Why People Started Making Pepe the Frog Nazi Memes
Around 2015, a specific group of users on 4chan decided they wanted to take Pepe back. Their logic was twisted but effective: if they made Pepe so offensive and so "edgy" that no normal person would want to share him, he would belong to the underground again.
They started "Nazifying" Pepe.
- They drew him with Hitler mustaches.
- They put him in SS uniforms.
- They placed him in front of concentration camps.
- They mixed him with the "Happy Merchant," a notorious antisemitic caricature.
The goal was to create a "barrier to entry" for the mainstream. If a celebrity posted a Pepe, they wanted people to immediately scream, "That's a Nazi symbol!"
It worked. Too well.
By the 2016 US Election, the "alt-right" had fully adopted the frog. When Hillary Clinton’s campaign published a literal "Pepe explainer" calling the frog a symbol of white supremacy, it gave the trolls exactly what they wanted: mainstream validation.
The ADL Step-In and the "Context" Problem
In September 2016, the Anti-Defamation League officially added Pepe the Frog to its "Hate on Display" database. This was a massive turning point.
However, the ADL was actually more nuanced than the headlines suggested. They explicitly stated that most instances of Pepe were not used in a hate-related context. > "The mere fact of posting a Pepe meme does not mean that someone is a white supremacist," the ADL noted.
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Basically, the context is everything. If the frog is wearing a MAGA hat or just looking sad about a breakup, it's a meme. If the frog is wearing a swastika, it's a hate symbol. It sounds simple, but in the heat of 2016, the nuance was lost. The "Pepe the Frog Nazi" label stuck like glue.
Matt Furie Fights Back (The Legal War)
Imagine creating a cute character and watching it become a mascot for people you despise. That was Matt Furie’s life.
He didn't just sit there. He tried to "Save Pepe" by encouraging people to draw him as a symbol of love. When that didn't work, he literally killed the character off in a one-page comic for Free Comic Book Day in 2017. Pepe was shown in a casket.
But memes don't die.
Furie eventually hired a legal team from the firm WilmerHale. They went after the people profiting from the hate. They successfully sued:
- Alex Jones / Infowars: For selling a "MAGA" poster that featured Pepe. Jones eventually settled for $15,000.
- The author of a "racist" children's book: A book called The Adventures of Pepe and Pede used the frog to push Islamophobic themes. Furie forced them to stop distribution and donate profits to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
- Richard Spencer: The white nationalist was forced to stop using Pepe as a logo for his podcast.
Where is Pepe Now? (2024-2026)
The "Pepe the Frog Nazi" era has largely faded into the background of internet history, though the association remains a scar. Interestingly, the frog has undergone a massive "redemption arc" in two very different places.
In Hong Kong, during the 2019–2020 protests, democracy activists adopted Pepe as a symbol of resistance. They didn't care about US alt-right politics; they just saw a "funny-looking frog" that expressed their defiance. Matt Furie even gave them his blessing, saying, "This is great news! Pepe for the people!"
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In the world of Cryptocurrency, Pepe has become the face of "PEPE coin," a massive meme-token. By 2025 and 2026, the frog has mostly returned to being a symbol of degenerate gambling and internet humor rather than political extremism.
How to Tell if a Pepe is "Hateful"
If you are worried about the ethics of using the frog today, experts generally look for these markers:
- Juxtaposition: Is the frog paired with known hate group symbols (like the 14 words or the Totenkopf)?
- Targeting: Is the meme being used to harass a specific marginalized group?
- Source: Is it coming from a platform known for extremist recruitment?
Actionable Takeaways for the "Post-Pepe" World
If you’re a creator or an internet user, the Pepe saga teaches us a few things about how the digital world works now.
First, creators need to protect their IP early. Matt Furie didn't have a trademark strategy until it was almost too late. If you create a character that goes viral, get your legal ducks in a row immediately.
Second, don't take every meme at face value. The "Pepe the Frog Nazi" phenomenon was a successful "op" by trolls to see if they could trick the media into branding a harmless cartoon as a hate symbol. They won because the media reacted without understanding the irony-poisoned culture of 4chan.
Third, symbols can be reclaimed. The Hong Kong protesters proved that a symbol's meaning isn't fixed. It belongs to whoever uses it the most effectively.
Honestly, Pepe is probably the most "human" character on the internet because he is messy, he is complicated, and he has been used for both the best and worst of us. He’s just a mirror.
If you want to understand the modern internet, you have to understand the frog. It’s not just about a "Nazi frog"—it’s about who gets to decide what things mean in a world where nobody is in charge.
Next Steps for You:
If you want to see the full history of the reclamation project, I recommend watching the documentary Feels Good Man (2020). It’s the definitive look at how Furie tried to scrub the "Nazi" label off his creation. You can also check the ADL’s current database entry for Pepe to see how they've updated their guidance for 2026.