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Kids Book Character Images Spark Debate Online
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Kids Book Character Images Spark Debate Online

What started as a humorous jab from Fox News host Pete Hegseth has turned into a cultural skirmish — and unexpectedly, the battlefield is over a children’s cartoon turtle. Yes, Franklin — the mild-mannered, lesson-learning reptile beloved by preschoolers — has now found himself at the center of a meme war, thanks to Hegseth and the online Right.


The backstory? Hegseth shared memes using Franklin the Turtle to mock perceived “stupid people,” and as often happens in the meme economy, it caught on fast. Conservatives ran with it, turning Franklin into a stand-in for condescending commentary, internet sarcasm, and anti-woke messaging. The green shell became a symbol not of childhood nostalgia, but of internet savagery — and the Left was not amused.


Now, here's where it gets delightfully awkward: Franklin the Turtle is Canadian. Cue the gasps. And apparently, this fact matters to some of our neighbors to the north, who’ve taken offense at their beloved animated export being co-opted by American culture warriors. But to quote the great philosophers of Twitter: “HA HA HA HA HA HA.”


Because here's the thing: when you tell Americans — especially Right-leaning, free-speech-defending, meme-loving Americans — to stop, you're practically begging them to do it harder. It’s a time-tested truth. Just ask Barbara Streisand. Or anyone who’s ever tried to get the internet to calm down.


And that’s exactly what’s happening. Far from fading out, the Franklin memes are multiplying, each one more absurd and hilarious than the last. There’s Franklin with Photoshop sunglasses. Franklin referencing 1776. Franklin saying things no cartoon turtle was ever meant to say. The backgrounds are increasingly chaotic — Terence and Phillip-style flatulence humor has even entered the chat, in a nod to South Park’s most famous Canadians.


Is it silly? Absolutely. Is it effective? Even more so. Hegseth may have started it as a joke, but it's quickly become another example of how digital culture gets weaponized in unexpected, often ridiculous, but undeniably clever ways.

And if there’s one thing we’ve learned from this — never tell the internet what it can’t do. Especially when it involves turtles.

Written by Arthur Higgens - December 8, 2025