[gfv]

I'm pretty sure Lovecraft was at most a passing thought. The more immediate context would be the Putin's internet "AMA" in 2006[1], where "how do you feel about the awakening of Cthulhu" became a meme after becoming the second most popular question. Through the years, it and its associated memes like "fhtagn", "will devour brains", lost their connection with the origin and became a part of the background meme noise. (Compare it with how you don't think about /b/ any time your rickroll someone.)

[1] https://www.sffchronicles.com/threads/41643/