Internet political memes have emerged as a potent tool for political expression in contemporary times, allowing ordinary people to challenge dominant discourses, subvert established power structures, and mobilize collective action through the creation and dissemination of humorous and satirical content on social media platforms. The Digital Security Act (DSA), passed in 2018, has been contentious issue for its vague and overly broad provisions which have been used to stifle political dissent and suppress free speech in this country. This study examines the role of political memes in resisting the culture of fear and repression created by the DSA. Adopting a qualitative research approach, this study incorporates an in-depth interview method to explore how Bangladeshi youth make sense of witty internet memes as political expression and why they engage with memes in their everyday Facebook activities. The findings illustrate that Bangladeshi youths perceive internet political memes as a tool for engaging in tricky political resistance within the current digital sphere. By applying ‘critical theory of laughter’, this study reveals how laughter shapes everyday shared political life of Bangladeshi youths. The result of the study led to unpack a new modality of youths’ political engagement with state through everyday use of internet memes on Facebook in the context of current regime, law and society in Bangladesh.
