It is! I was originally from lemm.ee because the admin was cool and had a hands-off approach by giving users autonomy to block instances they don't like, instead of taking it upon themselves to block stuff on behalf of everyone else. Then .ee closed down so I moved to lemmy.zip because the admin has similar instance policies. Then piefed was born, so I just moved to .zip's own piefed instance. Everything has been smooth sailing so far.

That actually didn't make sense, but I haven't really kept up with Pepes history, so I looked it up

No, it was never supposed to be nor did it during its initial rise in popularity, those shit bags are trying to steal it, and the original creator hates what they try to appropriate it for

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog

originally an apolitical character in Furie's works and its original internet popularity, Pepe was appropriated from 2015 onward as a symbol of the alt-right white nationalist movement.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) included Pepe in its hate symbol database in 2016, but said most instances of Pepe were not used in a hate-related context.

Since then, Furie has expressed his dismay at Pepe being used as a hate symbol and has sued organizations for doing so; the history of Pepe and Furie's attempt to dissociate the character from the alt-right were covered in the 2020 documentary film Feels Good Man.

In 2019, Pepe was used by protesters in the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests; conversely to its western political use, Pepe the Frog's symbolism in Hong Kong is not perceived as being connected with alt-right ideology, and was welcomed by Furie.

[~]

In May 2016, Olivia Nuzzi of The Daily Beast wrote that there was "an actual campaign to reclaim Pepe from normies" and that "turning Pepe into a white nationalist icon" was an explicit goal of some on the alt-right.

[~]

In an interview with Esquire, Furie said of Pepe's usage as a hate symbol, "It sucks, but I can't control it more than anyone can control frogs on the Internet".

Fantagraphics Books, Furie's publisher, issued a statement condemning the "illegal and repulsive appropriations of the character".

The Anti-Defamation League, an American organization opposed to antisemitism, included Pepe in its hate symbol database but wrote that most instances of Pepe were not used in a hate-related context.

Writing in Time on October 13, 2016, Furie said that "I understand that it's out of my control, but in the end, Pepe is whatever you say he is, and I, the creator, say that Pepe is love."

The next day, the ADL announced that it had partnered with Furie to launch the #SavePepe (or "Save Pepe") campaign, an attempt to associate the symbol with positivity.

As part of that campaign, Furie collected hundreds of "positive or peaceful" versions of Pepe to store in an online "Peace Pepe Database of Love". On October 17, 2016, Furie published a satirical take of Pepe's appropriation by the alt-right movement on The Nib.

I thought the whole fascist pepe was like a month long spout years ago that Fox News of all things made a big deal out of. Is Pepe used by any fascist movement today? I think in most internet circles he's back to his beloved self?