Pepe The Frog creator sues InfoWars for breach of copyright

Illustrator Matt Furie is bidding to reclaim his amphibian character after it was co-opted online as a popular meme associated with white supremacy and neo-Nazi values by members of the so-called alt-right. The lawsuit, filed with a federal court in California, seeks damages from the Alex Jones-fronted brand over a poster featuring the allegedly unauthorised image of Pepe alongside Jones, Donald Trump and a number of other prominent anti-establishment right-wing figures, including Milo Yiannopoulos, Ann Coulter, Matt Drudge and Roger Stone. The poster's slogan reads "MAGA", an acronym standing for President Trump's 2016 campaign slogan "Make America Great Again." Furie's lawyers allege InfoWars used the character's likeness without prior authorisation and made the poster available for purchase in its online store without permission. Originally conceived as a "peaceful frog-dude" in 2005, Furie's cartoon was first drawn on Microsoft Paint and appeared in an early online comic called Boy's Club, popularised on MySpace.