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The Daily Dot

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

Memes

“What an insult”: AI brainrot memes Ballerina Cappuccina and Tung Tung Tung Sahur are coming to Fortnite

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

Susan is a freelance writer following humanity one UGC at a time.

Susan LaMarca

Debunking the “Franklin will eventually show up” brainrot meme from “Grand Theft Auto”

Charlotte is a regular Daily Dot contributor with bylines in Insider, VICE, Glamour, The Independent, and more. She holds a Masters&#8217;s degree in Magazine Journalism from City, University of London.

Charlotte Colombo

“Make it stop”: A new study says 20% of YouTube videos are low-quality AI slop

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."

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?

Rebekah is a freelance reporter for the Daily Dot.

Rebekah Harding

young kids 4 5 years old know and speak brainrot

“It’s very concerning”: 4 and 5-year-olds knowing what brainrot is has sparked a conversation about kids these days

john mayer talks about italian brainrot memes

“Educate me”: John Mayer explaining Italian brainrot memes to Conan O’Brien is a lesson for the truly offline

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

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

Angela Andaloro proudly serves as a scribe, documenting all the shenanigans happening online. Her writing has been featured across Entertainment Weekly, PEOPLE, BuzzFeed, and more.

Angela Andaloro

2 image splits. Screenshots of Tik Tok meme about a crocodile.

Brainrot Memes