The revelations this week regarding NBC News’s Brian Williams “misremembering” that he was not actually in a fired-upon helicopter in Iraq in 2003 led to that greatest of all Internet responses: the meme.
Williams since 2003 has claimed he was in a helicopter that took rocket fire and was shot down. This week Williams recanted the story. Shortly on Twitter the hashtags #BrianWilliamsMisremembers and #BrianWilliamsWarStories were trending. Here are a few examples.
Badly burned, Brian Williams swam to shore after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. #BrianWilliamsWarStories
— 58 Days (@camocards) February 7, 2015
I once carried my friend Bubba to safety after we were both shot during the war in Vietnam. #BrianWilliamsWarStories — Jay (@jayko96) February 6, 2015
#BrianWilliamsWarStories He flew on the Enola Gay over Japan August 6, 1945.
— Nurse Patriot (@LANURSE1) February 5, 2015
Brian Williams has announced that, despite his recollections, he was not on the Titanic. He saw the film and was confused. cc @andyedelson
— Daniel Wright (@DanSWright) February 4, 2015
But the funniest were indeed the memes. Here is a sampling culled from various places in social media.
Williams’ situation should again bring to mind the question: who are these people and why should we trust them?
