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The Daily Dot

Anna is a freelance writer with far too much time on her hands. When she&#8217;s not writing about memes and internet slang, she can be found running TTRPGs online.

Anna Good

Culture

Gen Z streamers mock Conan O’Brien’s “brainrot” Oscars joke while proving its point

Rebecca Leib

Left: Young man sitting in a full bathtub, staring straight a head, a pink plate floating in front of him bearing two tortillas. Text overlay reads, "Sometimes I liek to sit in my bathtub and pretend I'm a lurking alligator." Right: Man in a white wifebeater face down in his full bathtub, text overlay reads, "Sometimes I get in the tub just to act like an alligator."

Men are pretending to be “lurking alligators” in the bathtub, and it’s somehow going viral

Lindsey is a Seattle area writer interested in all things society, including internet culture, politics, and mental health. Outside of the Daily Dot, her work can be found in publications such as The Mary Sue, Truthout, and YES! Magazine.

Lindsey Weedston

What does “folk 😭” mean? The internet’s latest inside joke, explained

Left: Man with his face painted white and black, in a black shirt, text overlay reads, "When its the year 1 AK (after kirk) and the great war between sliders and glovers begins." Right: Man with his face painted white and black, in a black shirt, sliding in knee pads across concrete. Text overlay reads, "Gloving is too mainstream, we are on sliding now."

Gen Z made up a holy war between “glovers” and “sliders” on TikTok and now it’s devolving fast

Left: 4 2016-era memes, including Doge and Nyan cat, underneath text reading, "Memes on January 1st 2026 (the great meme reset). Right: Awkward Black Kid meme under text reading "Great meme reset 1/1/2026, Spread the word!"

What is “The Great Meme Reset of 2026?” Tired of brainrot and irony stacking, TikTok wants to wipe memes clean in 2026

Laura Holliday is a freelance internet culture journalist covering online communities, digital aesthetics, and internet rabbit holes. She lives in London with her cat, Luna.

Laura Holliday

Left: Man showing a binder with a printed "Freakbob meme" to a woman in a grocery store, caption overlay reads, "Showing brainrot to strangers." Right: Man showing a binder with a printed "Freakbob meme" to a woman in a clothing store, caption overlay reads, "Showing brainrot to strangers."

“Bro leave her alone”: Gen Alpha is showing printed brainrot memes to strangers and the results are hilarious

Left: Laptop in a classroom playing SpongeBob Squarepants episode. Text overlay reads, "Teacher think I'm paying attention but I'm really watching the bob." Right: SpongeBob Squarepants decorated water bottle in a grocery store. Text overlay reads, "Mom think I'm paying attention whole time I'm sipping on da bob."

Memes

Distracted by the Bob: Inside the new SpongeBob meme taking over TikTok

TikToker @luv.yves8, originator of the "uh duh duh" meme on TikTok

“Uh duh duh” is the internet’s favorite new diss—but what does it mean?

SBS two AI images from X user @minchoi's video.

People are feeding AI the same image 100 times, and it keeps changing race, gender, and weight. Here’s why that’s a problem:

3 panels showing ai-generated images of an anthropomorphic shark character.

Tralalero Tralala: This AI-generated shark in Nikes is the face of TikTok’s Italian brainrot obsession

The bizarre rise of Ballerina Cappuccina, TikTok’s surreal new Italian brainrot star

What does the ‘Some of y’all lack’ meme actually mean? It depends on who you ask

3 image split of Marcus the VR worm. Marcus in clothing store with caption that reads: "Marcus the worm is peak 2025 content, change my mind" on left. Marcus as the pope with caption that reads: "The new pope has been chosen" in center. Marcus on store column on right.

Marcus the Virtual Reality Worm: A brainrot prophet with dead eyes and deep lore

Gisselle Hernandez is a freelance journalist based in Belize, where she writes travel and internet culture pieces. She enjoys watching anime, playing video games, and covering all things TikTok.

Gisselle Hernandez

Scrolling in the Deep: Friggin’ packets, yo 

vertikal rotierender fisch meme; Pixelated image of a fish spinning

‘Not the vertically rotating fish again’: How a spinning fish became Germany’s brain-rottiest meme export

Brain Rot