Introduction

The 'Dig the F------ Hole' meme is an exploitable format depicting a soldier compelling a person to engage in arduous tasks like digging or mining.

Background

Originating from a meme related to communism, this format gained significant traction online in late 2022. Users creatively modified the characters and dialogue, contributing to its viral status.

Meme History

The meme traces back to a comic posted by user JJones before September 27th, 2021, depicting a communist supporter coerced by a soldier into manual labor, despite ambitions of becoming a video game streamer. The earliest known reupload appeared on Memedroid on September 30th, 2021, by user Dranklestein, amassing over 440 votes in one year.

Internet Reaction

On October 2nd, 2021, Twitter user @vrilbro shared the first known edit, which received over 20 retweets and 130 likes within a year. The meme's original version rapidly circulated online, especially on Reddit, where users in the /r/PoliticalCompassMemes subreddit creatively adapted it starting October 3rd. A notable post by Redditor Regionalyonker35 gained over 1,200 upvotes. A reversed variant emerged on Tumblr on January 26th, 2022, featuring a character forced into writing books, which garnered over 1,500 reblogs and 3,500 likes. Throughout 2022, the format saw broad usage across major social media platforms, with a notable tweet from user @jonnysocialism on September 27th, 2022, receiving significant engagement.