Fan activism has long existed on the internet, with fans bounding together to save television shows from cancellation, defend themselves from copyright infringement threats by media corporations and promote alternative ideas (Jenkins 2012). In Jenkins' article regarding fan activism through the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA), he concluded, the fan group encourages people to speak out as fans on a broad range of socio-cultural and socio-political issues, through what the group's leader, calls "cultural acupuncture". The group's generative practices of deploying content from the fictional universe onto real-world concerns helps empower fans to become civically engaged and politically active. Fan activism is also evident in an online capacity with similarly profound effects. For example, 4Chan, originally a manga and anime fandom community generated memes and spread them across the Internet. Among the creations was the Obama 'Joker' imagery that was used in the Tea Party's campaign's against 'Obamacare'.
Jeremy Lin's performances on the basketball court during the 2011-2012 NBA season captured the imagination of fan's worldwide. Lin became the first ever American of Taiwanese of Chinese descent and the first Harvard graduate in nearly 50 years to play in the NBA, and, unexpectedly led his team; the New York Knicks to a winning streak, helping them make the playoffs. His on-court success generated the global following known as 'Linsanity', where fans attach his surname to coin popular catchphrases such as 'Lincredible' instead of incredible, 'Linning' instead of winning, "Super Lintendo" instead of Super Nintendo, 'Linvestment' instead of investment. The internet derived term, 'Linsanity' has also translated into marketing success for Lin with brands such as Nike, New Era, Adidas, Ben & Jerry's and Volvo using the phrase to promote their products.
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