What does ‘DOGE' mean? Why new government department shares its name with viral 2010s meme

USA Today

06-02-2025

What does 'DOGE' mean? Why new government department shares its name with viral 2010s meme
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Protest outside USAID offices after Elon Musk vows to shut agency down
Protesters gathered outside the USAID building in Washington, D.C., after Donald Trump and Elon Musk vowed to shut the agency down.
"Doge to the moon!" "Doge to the White House!" One meme is seemingly still going viral and worming itself into popular culture over a decade later — mostly thanks to Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
Doge memes are still going strong in 2025 due to the South African-American billionaire and his role in President Donald Trump's administration.
But what exactly is "Doge" and why has it been everywhere since 2010? From silly dog photos to a newly established advisory group, here is what to know about Doge and his various forms.
What does 'Doge' meme? Why is the dog called doge?
The Doge meme is a slang term for "dog," showcasing photos of a Shiba Inu with its raised eyebrows and glaring sideways at the camera. Silly, sarcastic messages written in Comic Sans font will typically accompany the meme.
The original photos came from Japanese teacher Atsuko Sato, who posted the photos of her rescue-adopted dog Kabosu to her blog.
The first use of the meme is unknown; however, it became popular online in the early 2010s with Reddit and Tumblr users, according to Know Your Meme.
Is the Doge meme dog alive?
Kabosu died in May of 2024. Sato announced the death of the 18-year-old Shiba Inu in a tribute post on her blog, adding she died in her arms.
"Thank you all so much for loving Kabosu all these years. I am certain that Kabosu was the happiest dog in the world," Sato said. "That makes me the happiest owner in the world."
Social media users around the world mourned the loss of Kabosu, thanking the dog for its impact on pop culture and their lives. Musk also shared a tribute to the dog, tweeting a photoshopped picture of Kabosu with fellow meme'd animal, Harambe the Gorilla.
Why does Elon love the Doge meme?
Musk has been vocal over the years about his love of memes, flooding his social media accounts with photos and quotes from viral items. He once referred to them as 'modern art" in 2019 and the following year tweeted "Who controls the memes controls the universe."
As for his specific love for "doge," it's a little harder to track Musk's origins with the meme. According to Business Insider, he once cited his interest in the meme to the fact that it has dogs and "the best humor."
The meme has now become an emblem for Musk and his supporters online, with his X followers typing in the same speech pattern and photoshopping the dog into pictures with Musk.
Is DOGE a cryptocurrency? How much is 'Dogecoin' worth?
Inspired by the meme, software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer created the cryptocurrency "Dogecoin" in 2013 as a joke on the surge in other digital coins. However, USA TODAY reported it became one of the most popular "meme stocks" amid a boom in retail trading and a viral trend to get the coin to a dollar during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Musk became associated with the cryptocurrency in 2019 after tweeting that it was his favorite. He also joined social media users in declaring "Dogecoin to the moon" and shared that Tesla would accept the currency as a means of payment for the company's merchandise.
Dogecoin's price peaked in May 2021 at $0.72. As of Feb. 6, 2025, it is worth $0.26.
Musk was also accused of insider trading by investors in June 2023 due to his announcement of allowing it as a form of payment and also changing the logo of Twitter to Doge. He ended up winning the dismissal of the $258 billion federal lawsuit in August after the court deemed he did not defraud investors by hyping up Dogecoin or conduct insider trading, according to Reuters.
What does DOGE mean for the U.S. government?
DOGE stands for "Department of Government Efficiency," which was started by Trump during his first day of the presidency on Jan. 20. NPR shared Trump didn't "create" the department; rather it was renamed from the previously existing United States Digital Service, which was created under former President Barack Obama.
And it's not a department, despite the name. Trump tapped Musk and former GOP presidential opponent Vivek Ramaswamy as the heads of the advisory group. Ramaswamy exited the position last month, instead running for governor of Ohio.
Musk is not a federal employee. White House officials state Musk is a "special government employee." According to Reuters, Trump first floated the idea of Musk becoming an advisor to his administration in August 2024.
Musk responded to Trump by tweeting an AI-generated photo of himself in front of a podium marked "Department of Government Efficiency."
What does the Department of Government Efficiency do?
Trump's executive order establishes the Department of Government Efficiency to implement the President's DOGE Agenda by "modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."
According to Trump himself last year, DOGE will provide advice and guidance from outside of the government, and it will partner with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to "drive large-scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before."
As of February 2025, the group has rapidly taken over the U.S. government's main human resources and foreign aid arms. USA TODAY reported Musk's actions have caused uproar across the federal workforce in a matter of weeks.
Contributing: Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY