Stop Tony Meow

Stop Tony Meow is a browser extension which replaces photos of former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott with images of cats and kittens on websites. Initially created for Google Chrome, the extension was expanded to Safari and Firefox later in 2014. The extension was created by developers and designers Dan Nolan, Ben Taylor and Matt Kelsh.[1][2]

Stop Tony Meow
Developer(s)Dan Nolan, Ben Taylor, Matt Kelsh
Written inJavascript
PlatformChrome, Safari, Firefox
TypeHumour
Websiteweb.archive.org/web/20201125200053/http://www.stoptonymeow.com/

The extension became very popular with over 100,000 users by September 2014, and in the same year it was selected by the National Library of Australia to be included in its Pandora Archive.[3][4]

The script searches for "abbott" in a page's source code and replaces the image with a photo from Placekitten, a service which displays placeholder cat images on websites.[1] In response to the popularity of Stop Tony Meow, the Liberal Party changed their website to prevent images of their then-leader being replaced.[5]

Stop Tony Meow also gained limited notoriety in Texas, where it was discovered that the extension also replaced images of then-Republican gubernatorial candidate, now-governor Greg Abbott.[6][7]

Freedom of information request

Curious to read what the prime minister and government thought of the software, Nolan lodged a freedom of information request for any documents containing the words "Stop Tony Meow" with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Nolan stated, "it would be fascinating to see how a government department reacts to these weird new kinds of technology and culture jamming stuff, which previously they wouldn't have had to deal with."[8]

A search produced over 137 pages of correspondence, for which Nolan was charged $720.30. The fee was not paid and so the documents were not released. Nolan challenged the cost with the department, arguing that the documents were in the public interest, but the request was denied.[5] Nolan later considered fundraising among friends to access the documents.[9]

References
  1. Farrell, Paul (6 February 2014). "Replacing Abbott with kittens: Q&A with the co-creator of Stop Tony Meow". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  2. "'Stop Tony Meow' – new online app replaces pictures of PM with cats". News. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  3. "Purrfect politics: Stop Tony Meow to give historians paws for thought". News. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  4. "Stop Tony Meow". National Library of Australia. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  5. "Stopping 'Stop Tony Meow': how web plug-in caught the Department of Prime Minister's attention". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  6. TexasTowelie (22 February 2014). "Texas Democratic Cat Lovers Rejoice!!! Stop Tony Meow works for Greg Abbott too". Democratic Underground. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  7. "Friday Wrap: A Father-Son Tribcast Intro, Wall Street Secret Societies, and More..." Burnt Orange Report. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  8. "Cat app top priority for Abbott officials". NZ Herald. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  9. "'Stop Tony Meow': The web plug-in that swapped pictures of Australian". The Independent. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
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