This study investigates the implicit meanings, pragmatic functions, and semiotic shifts embedded in digital memes within contemporary internet culture, addressing a gap in communication research where memes remain underexplored from a pragmatic and multimodal perspective. Adopting a multidisciplinary framework integrating Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA), Relevance Theory, Memetics, and Social Semiotics (Barthes' semiotic model and Kress and van Leeuwen's visual grammar), the study explores how digital memes use combinations of images, textual overlays, and cultural references to convey non-literal, context-dependent messages. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative research design based on purposive sampling of digital memes drawn from major platforms Reddit, X, and Instagram — selected for their intertextuality, virality, and thematic diversity, with the sample size guided by theoretical saturation. Each meme was analyzed through a step-by-step multimodal coding procedure examining visual-textual incongruity, intertextuality, and subcultural shorthand. The findings show that digital memes function as compressed, high-density rhetorical tools rather than mere entertainment. Specifically, memes emerge as communicative mechanisms for establishing in-group solidarity, constructing digital identities, and facilitating political commentary and collective coping through shared irony and absurdist catharsis. The study further shows that semiotic shifts in recurring templates reflect evolving cultural values and power dynamics within online communities, offering a structured methodology for reading implicit meaning in digital communication.
