Matt Furie: Pepe began as an artwork titled “Flight of the Peacefrog” that I made in 2004. It featured Pepe – an anthropomorphic frog in a colorful tracksuit – riding on the back of a bird.

A reaction meme known for saying, “feels good/bad, man”, Pepe’s image was adopted by the alt-right during the 2016 presidential election. And while reaction memes more or less ‘belong’ to the internet and can be used to react to anything, creator Matt Furie, who created Pepe as a symbol of love, peace, and chillness, wasn’t about to stand for it.

Artist Matt Furie combated the hate by spreading the love with the hashtag #SavePepe, where people have been creating their own positive Pepe art to help reclaim Pepe’s image.