: an antisemitic cartoon portraying a Jew based on
stereotypes and tropes
WHY IT’S ANTISEMITIC:
Visually, the smirking merchant cartoon, also known as the
happy merchant meme, relies heavily on derogatory Jewish
stereotypes — a large hooked nose, a scheming smirk and
pose, frizzy hair, and grimy beard (see Jewish features).
Antisemitic Facebook
comment using the smirking
merchant meme.
As the most popular antisemitic image online, the smirking
merchant is also used to symbolize both traditional and
modern-day tropes, including Jewish control over the world,
Jewish greed, Holocaust denial, and a general blame for white
supremacy hot topics like “race-mixing,” feminism, and the
LGBTQ community.
While originally created as part of a racist and antisemitic
cartoon, the smirking merchant joined other bigoted memes —
e.g., antisemitic versions of trollface and Pepe the frog (see Pepe the frog) — on
popular, far-right sites like 4chan, 8kun (previously 8chan),
and Gab.