PSA: The 'birds aren't real' joke totally shifted the vibe in online spaces

A couple years ago, it was mostly a niche meme, but now I see it used as a serious counter-argument in actual debate threads (like, about drone surveillance). It's weird how a satire thing got absorbed as a real talking point. Has anyone else noticed this blurring happening with other joke conspiracies?

2 comments

2 Comments

faith_thomas7d ago

Yeah, the "satire thing got absorbed as a real talking point" is exactly it. It feels like the internet just loses the ability to hold two ideas at once, that something can be funny and also point at a real issue. Once a joke gets big enough, it just becomes a flag people wave without the original context. I've seen it happen with other stuff too, like joking about "the government putting chemicals in the water" - now some people just say it straight faced as a fact. The punchline becomes the premise and it totally breaks how people talk about things.

hart.ryan6d ago

I read an article about how the "birds aren't real" joke got turned into a real conspiracy theory by some people. The creator meant it as a joke about government drones, but now you have folks who actually believe it. It shows how a clear joke can get twisted when it spreads online without the original humor attached.