It was the blurst of times: Popular federal public service meme page shuts down

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D’oh! A popular Simpsons-themed public service humour account on Instagram is shutting down after more than three years of sharing comedic posts about life working in the federal government.

Under the username goc_simpsons on Instagram, posts on the account reference everything from the transition of workers’ health-care plan, to telework and the return-to-office debate, to last year’s Public Service Alliance of Canada strike, all the way down to problems with the City of Ottawa’s LRT system.

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In a time when public servants have been reprimanded for making certain comments on social media, meme-based accounts have provided an outlet for employees to shed light and humour on the mishappenings within the government.

The individual behind the now-shuttered goc_simpsons Instagram account, who asked to remain anonymous because they are concerned the satire they feature could contravene the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector, shared a post on April 11 announcing the page would become inactive on “an indeterminate (ha) hiatus.”

The admin told this reporter via a direct message on Instagram that accounts such as theirs appeal to public servants who don’t feel they have that loud of a voice.

“We are all political animals, and especially for young public servants like myself who have grown up with social media, it can feel constraining not to have a place to speak out and voice your opinion about issues that affect you,” the admin said, noting that the recently-published Deputy Ministers’ Task Team on Values and Ethics Report to the Clerk of the Privy Council raised challenges around public servants’ use of social media.

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The first post on the page dates back to Dec. 17, 2021. Since then, more than 450 posts have been shared on the account, which has garnered more than 5,000 followers.

“COVID lockdowns were coming back in Ontario and I needed something to laugh about,” the admin explained, adding the idea was inspired by two other accounts: the since-shut-down DecolonizeSpringfield page, and KingoftheParliamentHill. “The Simpsons is my favourite show, and there are so many relatable scenes that continue to be funny decades later.

“A public service version made perfect sense!”

Over the past few years, the admin said they kept the page running as they recognized that humour could be “cathartic” in difficult times.

“This account has been running during some incredibly tumultuous times for the public service, from the PSAC strike to the Return to Office mandate, that have been difficult for so many public servants,” they said. “I can see how much people appreciated seeing their experiences reflected, and satirical memes are just such a good medium to do that.”

“We saw that during the ‘Freedom Convoy,’ where many public servants were personally affected but we had to retain a level of non-partisanship in talking about it. We are seeing it again with the conflict in Gaza. Having a space to voice frustration among people with common views and experiences is really valuable.”

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Similar meme pages exist, including globalgoc_memes which focuses on international affairs.

The owner of that page, who also asked to remain anonymous to avoid repercussions at their job, said in a direct message that “as a fellow admin but more so as a longtime follower” it was sad to see goc_simpsons shut down, also posting about it on their own Instagram story.

“People underestimate how much time and effort goes into curating memes in general, but they went a step further with using the perfect Simpsons content and making it relevant to us, which in itself is a testament to their intelligence and creativity,” the page owner said.

The admin of globalgoc_memes said they started their page in January 2023 after following other meme pages and noticing a gap in content specific to public servants working in international affairs.

“I want this page to be for them, I want them to feel seen in a way, even if it’s through a meme,” they said.

A creative outlet and a way to learn and engage with fellow employees on relatable issues, they said several pages were created during the pandemic, though few remain active.

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“Obviously I can’t speak on their behalf, but I think some people had a bit more time to do that and also I think collectively we all needed to laugh and make fun of some pretty hard situations to cope in a way,” they said.

The owner of the goc_simpsons page said that, over the years, they created and shared “too many” favourite posts to pick just one, mentioning a series on government departments as The Simpsons characters and a series where they took famous songs from the show and added public service lyrics. They also had a post poking fun at Mayor Mark Sutcliffe featured on CBC.

“That was a proud moment,” they said.

The plan is to keep the page available for viewing, the admin said, adding that “so much hard work” went into the account.

“I’m taking on a new job that’s going to make life very busy, and I just don’t think I will have the time and energy to dedicate to it anymore,” they said.

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