I Wanted to Understand European Populism So I Talked to Bono

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About

I Wanted to Understand European Populism, So I Talked to Bono is a headline from Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria. The headline was mocked on Twitter as people found "European Populism" and "Bono" to be unrelated, and turned the headline into a snowclone wherein people wrote "I wanted to understand X, so I talked to Y," with X and Y to be unrelated.

Origin

On September 20th, 2018, Fareed Zakaria posted a column in which he discussed European Populism with U2 lead singer Bono (shown below).

Opinions I wanted to understand Europe's populism. So I talked to Bono. By Fareed Zakaria Columnist September 20 at 5:21 PM

Spread

The column began seeing parodies the following day. Twitter user @greg_jenner tweeted "I wanted to understand the laws of Thermodynamics. So I talked to Noel Edmonds" and gained over 550 retweets and 2,900 likes. User @LukewSavage tweeted "I wanted to understand quantum physics. So I talked to Fred Durst." The tweet gained over 940 retweets and 5,900 likes (shown below, right).

Greg Jenner @greg_jenner Follow I wanted to understand the laws of Thermodynamics. So l talked to Noel Edmonds. Opinions I wanted to understand Europe's populism. So I talked to Bono. By Fareed Zakaria Columnist September 20 at 5:21 PM

Luke Savage Follow @LukewSavage I wanted to understand quantum physics. So I talked to Fred Durst. Opinions I wanted to understand Europe's populism. So I talked to Bono. By Fareed Zakaria Columnist September 20 at 5:21 PM 11:11 AM -21 Sep 2018

Other popular examples were tweeted by user @Moudhy, which gained over 190 retweets and 840 likes (shown below, left). Twitter user @JohnDurant made a joke which gained over 220 retweets and 820 likes (shown below, right). The jokes were covered by Select All.^[1]

Dr. Moudhy Al-Rashid @Moudhy Follow I wanted to understand archaeology. So l talked to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Opinions I wanted to understand Europe's populism. SoI talked to Bono. By Fareed Zakaria Columnist September 20 at 5:21 PM

John Durant @johndurant Follow I wanted to understand peasant life. So l talked to Czar Nicholas ll, By Kaiser Wilhelm Opinions I wanted to understand Europe's populism. SoI talked to Bono. By Fareed Zakaria Columnist September 20 at 5:21 PM 12:17 PM -21 Sep 2018

Various Examples

Follow @twlldun "I wanted to understand the rage of the common man against the elite. So l talked to a rockstar worth £700 million" Opinions I wanted to understand Europe's populism. So I talked to Bono. By Fareed Zakaria Columnist September 20 at 5:21 PM 2:30 AM 21 Sep 2018

Amir @AmirAminiMD Follow I wanted to understand the problem with the space-time background dependence of the supersymmetric string theory So I talked to Britney Spears. Opinions I wanted to understand Europe's populism. So I talked to Bono. By Fareed Zakaria Columnist September 20 at 5:21 PM 3:32 PM 21 Sep 2018

Jaideep A. Prabhu @orsoraggiante Follow I wanted to understand modern India. SoI talked to Ramachandra Guha. Opinions I wanted to understand Europe's populism. So I talked to Bono. By Fareed Zakaria Columnist September 20 at 5:21 PM 5:53 AM - 22 Sep 2018

Not Courtney @notcourtneymaye Follow This is like the one time i submitted a paper and the document was titled "s--- ass philosophy paper zo !! @Zoeyoxley A series of unfortunate events: 2:32 PM 21 Sep 2018 from Green Bay, WI

Jamie @jamiepullman Follow I wanted to understand string theory so l talked to Sinita. CheWashington Post Democracy Dies in Darkness Opinions I wanted to understand Europe's populism. So I talked to Bono. By Fareed Zakaria September 20, 2018 at 5:21 PM

Seamas It Ever Was @shockproofbeats Follow I wanted to understand HTML so I talked to Enya. The Washington Post Democracy Dies in Darkness Opinions I wanted to understand Europe's populism. So I talked to Bono. By Fareed Zakaria September 20, 2018 at 5:21 PM

Search Interest

Unavailable

External References

^[1] Select All – I Wanted to Understand the Fareed Zakaria Meme. So I Talked to Waluigi.

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