Those most vulnerable to misinformation often engage with fast, emotional, and visual formats like memes and short-form videos. Traditional media literacy efforts, focused on long-form content and academic discourse, rarely reach these audiences—while bad actors skillfully exploit these same formats to spread false narratives.
Memetic Literacy Lab (MLL) promotes media literacy by producing and distributing viral memes and videos in the same formats and spaces where misinformation thrives. It equips audiences with tools to build mental resilience, inoculating them against misinformation and manipulation.
With AI-generated misinformation on the rise and social media platforms continuing to prioritize engagement over truth, information literacy must be as viral as the misinformation it combats. MLL fills a massive gap in digital education by meeting people where they are and speaking their language.
Learn more about our programs:
Research & Strategy Lab, Creative Studio, and Media Hub.
Memetic Literacy Lab evolves media literacy to match how information actually moves today. Rather than relying on traditional fact-checking, we work in the cultural language of memes and short-form media to make critical thinking engaging, practical, and widely accessible. We study how viral content, platform incentives, and psychological biases shape belief—and use those same distribution dynamics to help people recognize manipulation from within the systems they already use.
Our decentralized, participatory approach encourages audiences to actively interrogate narratives instead of passively consuming corrections. Through research, creator collaboration, and community-driven content, we aim to make discernment contagious—strengthening collective sensemaking, resilience, and agency in an increasingly chaotic digital commons.
We envision a future where digital citizens are empowered to think critically about the media they consume—cultivating a generation that is not merely reactive to information, but capable of actively interpreting it. A culture in which manipulation loses its power because its mechanisms are widely understood, and where viral media strengthens collective understanding rather than exploiting attention and fear.
Memetic Literacy Lab works toward an information ecosystem where discernment spreads as easily as misinformation, communities share responsibility for sensemaking, and people feel confident navigating uncertainty, ambiguity, and rapid change. Our long-term vision is a more resilient public—defined by critical curiosity, shared agency, and informed participation in the digital commons.
MLL comprises a diverse group of professionals and researchers dedicated to exploring the dynamics of memetic communication. The team’s interdisciplinary approach combines insights from fields such as media studies, psychology, sociology, and information technology to analyze and address the challenges posed by the rapid spread of information in the digital age.
Executive Director
Oshan Anand’s journey in online activism began in political IRC channels when he was a teenager, and continued through his deep interest in digital ecosystems and misinformation. He played an important role in tracking online disinformation campaigns during the pandemic, founding Qult Following, the largest anti-QAnon Facebook group.
Beyond activism, Oshan ran a weekly futurism think tank from 2017-2019, exploring emerging technologies, societal shifts, and the future of digital culture. A lifelong student of politics, history, and global culture, Oshan brings a nuanced understanding of media narratives, propaganda, and information warfare to MLL’s mission.
Oshan has been a graphic designer for 30 years, and regularly makes memes and short-form videos.
Lead UX Designer
Aaron Stevens is a seasoned designer and researcher based in the San Francisco Bay Area, specializing in behavioral design and complex enterprise systems.
With nearly a decade of experience, he currently serves as a Senior Product Designer at Square, where he focuses on empowering sellers through intuitive design solutions. Prior to this, Aaron held roles such as Lead Product Designer at Carta and Senior Product Designer at OpenGov, where he designed products to enhance public sector services. His expertise spans the entire product development process, from project planning and research to detailed design execution.
Aaron is passionate about applying design and technology to traditionally underserved sectors, aiming to solve real problems for real people. Outside of his professional endeavors, he enjoys biking around the Bay Area, reading, and engaging with various non-profits.
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