It Sure Looks Like the Department of Education Is Promoting a Right-Wing ‘Harry Potter’ Meme
The US Department of Education posted “There’s Magic in Learning!” and “Make Education Great Again” alongside an image of students approaching a castle and a blonde girl. Online commentators said the image resembled the “Malfoid” meme, a far-right internet aesthetic based on a gender-swapped Draco Malfoy, raising questions about how government agencies use online culture to communicate.
The article says Malfoid fan fiction often romanticises the character’s blood-purity bigotry and presents her as anti-queer and anti-trans. Far-right meme channels have used the figure to package ethno-nationalist and conservative ideas in familiar, shareable fantasy imagery. The Education Department continued its “There is Magic in Learning” posts with references to *The Lord of the Rings* and *Avatar: The Last Airbender*; a Baylor communications professor described the merging of internet subcultures and mainstream institutions as a defining feature of modern politics.
In short
- A Department of Education post drew comparisons to a far-right Harry Potter meme.
- The Malfoid figure can package extremist ideas in fantasy imagery.
- The department continued its campaign with other fantasy references.
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The case for
Critics can reasonably argue that a federal department should take care when borrowing imagery that has become associated with far-right and anti-trans online communities. Even if the resemblance was unintentional, using such imagery alongside a political slogan risks lending government credibility to those associations and alienating students and families who see them as hostile.
The case against
Defenders can reasonably argue that a castle, a blonde student and a Harry Potter-inspired phrase are familiar fantasy motifs, and resemblance alone does not establish that the department intended to endorse a fringe meme. The department’s other references to popular fantasy worlds support the possibility that it was using broadly recognisable cultural imagery to make education messaging engaging, rather than signalling an ideological alignment.
Explained simply
The US Department of Education is a federal agency that oversees national education policy and programmes, though schools are largely run by states and local authorities. Government agencies sometimes use popular books, films and internet imagery to make public messages more appealing.
Draco Malfoy is a character in the Harry Potter books, and “Malfoid” is an online meme and fan-fiction figure based on a female version of him. Some versions draw on the character’s belief in wizarding “blood purity”, a prejudice against people from non-magical families, and have been used in far-right online spaces.
The story raises questions about how political ideas can travel through entertainment and online culture, and how audiences may interpret imagery used by public institutions. References to familiar fantasy worlds can reach broad audiences, while also carrying meanings developed in particular online communities.
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