An airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani early Friday, escalating a simmering conflict between the US and Iran that had flared up after an American contractor was killed in Iraq in late December.
The decision to kill Soleimani, who was one of the most powerful people in Iran and directed bloody conflicts around the Middle East, followed a New Year's Eve attack on the US embassy in Baghdad by an Iran-backed militia. Iranian officials vowed revenge for Soleimani's death, and the US is reportedly sending 3,000 more troops to the region.
The attack threw social media punditry into overdrive and sent unverified or bogus information flying around the internet.
This being 2020, though, many people took these dire predictions — it's World War III! — and did what any sensible person with an internet connection would do: channeled their existential dread into memes.
As one TikTok user asked: "Do you fuck with the war?"
The teens have been making content about Iran
Some people seemed ready?
Me dodging Iran’s bullets, after Trump drafts me to fight for World War 3 #WWIII
But the resounding answer was, no, absolutely not.
Me meeting my homies in prison after we all refused the draft for WWIII
One person posted about tearing up a draft letter because they didn't want to fight in a "mindless forever war."
There’s just tons of content about potentially getting drafted
Many others simply detailed their strategies for avoiding a draft. (There has been no announcement regarding reinstating the draft, and the US currently has an all-volunteer military.)
Everyone with asthma who can’t be drafted for World War III
Others argued that because of the military's history of discrimination against LGBTQ people, and particularly the ongoing discrimination against trans people, they should not be drafted.
so if the LGBTQ isn’t welcomed in the military, we shouldn’t get drafted RIGHT?
This guy is trying to find the bright side:
the ww3 faguettes are gonna run that bitch
Others made jokes about fake birth certificates and fleeing the country.
When the US government asks for my birth certificate so they can draft me for #WW3
And one person advised the logical strategy for anyone online: just block the US Army, Navy, and Air Force on Twitter.
Some people thought it was inappropriate to make memes about war.
Also, if a potential war and the deaths of countless people is grounds for jokes and memes, then it's probably time to really examine how much the internet has poisoned your mind and heart
#WWIII No kind of war is funny and this is fucking absurd. I hate the way you use the trend like this to make memes about people dying in a massive scale. Stop this pile of crap.
But other social media users acknowledged that deep down they were really just scared. As are we all.
Me laughing at these World War 3 memes knowing this shit might happen #WWIII
Me reading all the memes about World War 3 but also thinking about the consequences if it really happened : #WWIII #WorldWar3
Welcome to 2020, everyone. Godspeed.