memes

The Facebook Worm Named After a High School Girl

Adrian Chen · 05/13/11 01:15PM

Here's how easy it is to become the most hated person on the internet: An innocent high schooler has had her life turned upside down after a hacker put her name in a potent Facebook worm that told people to kill themselves.

Insane Hatter Who Unleashed Evil Headpiece Upon Royal Wedding Speaks

Seth Abramovitch · 05/05/11 01:06AM

OsamaBreak™. Back to the royal wedding for a moment, shall we? Remember Princess Beatrice's ridiculous hat? Sure you do. It was on the fast-track to becoming the next great meme. Cats were jumping out of it, it was lording over Mordor — we were just getting cooking! Now it's all "fake death photo" this and that. (Though kudos to the visionary Photoshopper who dared to collide the two worlds in the mash-up above.)

Princess Beatrice's Royal Wedding Hat: Birth of a Meme

Adrian Chen · 04/29/11 02:16PM

On this day Prince William and Kate Middleton were married. And also something like a dozen memes were born. The grumpy flower girl is cute, but the hat worn by Princess Beatrice is our favorite. Princess Beatrice's hat has a tumblr, something like 14 Facebook fan pages with thousands of fans, and has set off a Photoshop frenzy.

Rebecca Black Has a Message for All You Haters

Matt Cherette · 04/21/11 09:24PM

On tonight's Extra, Rebecca Black talked to Mario Lopez about the death threats that have been made against her because of her annoyingly popular song, "Friday." Black said she just was surprised that some people were taking it so seriously: "Yeah, um, I think that's kind of weird. Like, why would you, it's a song! Like, it's not like I ran for President and then I said something really bad."

The Perilous Life of a Teen Internet Queen

Adrian Chen · 04/18/11 05:37PM

Raped, bullied, stalked, leered at, sneered at: Kiki Kannibal is the much-reviled teen Internet celebrity that launched a thousand scathing blog comments. This is no way to become famous.

What Happened to Encyclopedia Dramatica?

Max Read · 04/16/11 12:35PM

Unofficial 4chan wiki Encyclopedia Dramatica, the user-authored repository of memes, racism and homophobia, is no more. It's been replaced by OhInternet, a much cleaner site with much less offensive content. We asked its founder: Is ED preparing to sell out?

Rebecca Black Working on New EP

Max Read · 04/16/11 10:36AM

Famous internet meme Rebecca Black is, according to TMZ, putting together an EP with producer Charlton Pettus (pictured), best known for working, in the 90s, with the guy from Tears for Fears who didn't write any of their good songs. So, yes, it will probably be bad, but not in the same wonderful way as "Friday" was. Also, she will probably not cover "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," which is too bad, because, when all is said and done, that's a pretty good song. In related news, police are investigating two threats made against Black.

Rebecca Black's 'Friday': The Meme That Wouldn't Die

Adrian Chen · 04/08/11 03:55PM

Well, it's Friday. Which means you've probably heard Rebecca Black's "Friday" drifting from someone's computer speakers or smartphone about 13 times today. People are still listening the hell out of "Friday," which has already been viewed almost 90 million times.

Meet the Man Responsible for Rebecca Black

Adrian Chen · 03/30/11 01:00PM

This month Rebecca Black's "Friday" hit the Internet like audio-visual swine flu—and the Internet hit back. She seemed to come out of nowhere, possibly autotuned from her first word. But Black was spawned by the vanity production company Ark Music Factory. We spoke with Ark Music Factory CEO Patrice Wilson, who claimed "Friday" was dumb by design.

Rebecca Black's Weird Music Factory Will Tell All Tomorrow

Adrian Chen · 03/24/11 05:35PM

Ark Music Factory, the vanity production company Rebecca Black's mom paid $2,000 to make that "Friday video," just released this teaser video for something they're calling "The Truth About Ark." Not really sure what to make of this, but apparently it will counter all the mean things people have been saying about Ark, i.e. that they exploit their roster of tween girls' misguided dreams of fame for profit.

The Internet Made Rebecca Black Cry

Adrian Chen · 03/18/11 01:26PM

Teen meme Rebecca Black was on Good Morning America today talking about the ridicule and fame brought by her "Friday" music video. She seems to be handling it pretty well, even if some of the mean YouTube comments made her cry.

Internet Superstar Rebecca Black Talks "Friday" and Cyber Bullying on GMA

Madeleine Davies · 03/18/11 11:00AM

"Friday" singer Rebecca Black finally broke her legendary silence during an interview with Andrea Channing on today's GMA. Uh, Ms. Channing? Do you really think repeating mean Internet comments to a 13-year-old's face is a productive argument against cyber bullying?