From WIRED · Miles Klee · · 1m 40s
The right's closing argument: Anakin Skywalker memes
Conservative influencers are flooding X with Star Wars edits to promote fascism days before the 2026 midterms.
In brief
Conservative influencers are flooding X with Star Wars edits to promote fascism days before the 2026 midterms. Right-wing figures are using Anakin Skywalker memes from Star Wars to promote fascist ideology ahead of the 2026 midterms, though the strategy appears to reach only their own social media circles. Originally…
Star Wars memes flood the right
Conservative accounts on X are sharing Anakin Skywalker edits from Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith as political messaging days before the 2026 midterms.
What the memes claim
Right-wing commentators argue Anakin represents the disenfranchised and radicalized. One post says George Lucas made the prequels into far-right propaganda, calling Anakin the millennial and zoomer waffen.
“George Lucas may have made, albeit unintentionally, the most prophetic and effective far-right propaganda in existence.”
Influencers see political power
Christian streamer Kangmin Lee says Anakin represents the archetypal disenfranchised chud, radicalized by a corrupt political order. Right-wing writer Max Mersault calls the posts culturally significant propaganda.
“archetypal disenfranchised chud”
Elon Musk joins the trend
After spending nearly half a billion dollars on Republican candidates this cycle, Elon Musk shared an AI-generated image of Anakin on a throne with his family and imperial guards, captioning it: This is what they…
“This is what they stole from us.”
What the memes actually promote
The Anakin posts advertise a fascist worldview, lust for corruptive power, and grievances about immigrants and DEI. Supporters ignore that Anakin was groomed by a wizard and slaughtered children on his orders.
Claims of cultural victory
Conservative influencers insist the Anakin posts are no longer a meme but a monumental zeitgeist victory that has reversed a decade of cultural rot and damage in less than a week.
Reality check on the strategy
The posts reach only esoteric social media feeds and amount to playing with action figures.
“pathetic person”
The one thing
Right-wing figures are using Anakin Skywalker memes from Star Wars to promote fascist ideology ahead of the 2026 midterms, though the strategy appears to reach only their own social media circles.
