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Theresa May, the Conservative prime minister who once said Tories should stop being the "nasty party", announced on Friday that she plans to govern by working with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party following her failure to win a majority in the UK election.
May's statement sparked fury, as the DUP is known for an aggressively socially conservative agenda, and has fiercely opposed LGBT rights, including blocking votes on same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, and been stringently against abortion rights – even in the case of rape. Some members have also supported creationism and denied climate change.
News of a possible coalition between DUP and the Conservatives lit up 4chan's /pol/ messageboard Friday morning.
There's about a dozen active threads about DUP currently on 4chan. Most are very small, mainly with one or two users teaching American users about how DUP aligns politically within UK politics.
The largest thread is called "REGARDING THE DUP" and in it British users outline why they believe DUP will help the Conservatives push through a hard Brexit and go after "leftist cucks".
4chan
The meme is adapted from a notorious and inflammatory photo of the now-deceased former DUP leader Reverand Ian Paisley posing with a hammer marked "smash Sinn Fein", which has also been shared on 4Chan.
4Chan
The thread is full of information about the DUP explained for Americans who have been following European elections closely over the last few months. This process is commonly referred to as redpilling.
Most of the conversation on the thread, though, ironically enough, is just people complaining that Labour was able to create a grassroots swell of populism. "It's the left's fault this happened for voting in Labour and being so anti-Brexit," one poster wrote.
It should be noted that Irish users in the thread are fairly split between being embarrassed that Americans are learning about the DUP...
...and being excited at the possible ensuing chaos as the Conservatives attempt to build a coalition with the party.
