Overview
- The White House posted on X a tribute calling Harambe a “true patriot,” a legend and an icon of internet history.
- The message marked the ten-year anniversary of the Cincinnati Zoo shooting that killed Harambe after a child entered the gorilla enclosure.
- After the 2016 shooting activists held vigils and signs reading “All Animals Lives Matter” and “R.I.P. Harambe,” and an eyewitness, Kim O’Connor, later said her footage did not capture the worst parts of the incident.
- Harambe has since become a persistent internet-era symbol and meme that many outlets and communities treat as a cultural touchstone rather than a conventional public figure.
- Coverage of the tribute has come largely from right-leaning outlets, and the White House post raises questions about how viral moments from internet culture are being folded into official public messaging.