Who is making these ugly memes?

Dec 29, 2025 23:30:14

Share to

Original Title: The ugly memes driving crypto sales

Original Author: Adam Alexsic, Financial Times

Original Compilation: Peggy, BlockBeats

Editor's Note: As AI, algorithmic recommendations, and crypto speculation converge, internet memes are being systematically "manufactured" to harvest attention and money.

This article begins with a series of aggressive content that has gone viral on social platforms, revealing how these seemingly absurd trends serve the logic of spreading crypto scams. It reminds us that when trends are no longer generated naturally but are designed for profit, the internet becomes more chaotic and dangerous.

Here is the original text:

The author of this article is known online as Etymology Nerd and is the author of the book Algospeak: How Social Media is Changing the Future of Language.

This year, a dark and unsettling new facet has emerged on Instagram Reels: aggressive memes are being systematically created to promote cryptocurrency scams—while almost no one is seriously trying to eliminate them.

Since January of this year, a group of bizarre, distorted characters has begun to spread across this social platform. The emergence of this phenomenon is closely related to the widespread availability of AI tools and the relaxation of hate speech regulation on Meta platforms.

This includes "George Droyd," a cyborg "reincarnation" based on George Floyd, created in April of this year to promote a cryptocurrency called $FLOYDAI; and "Kirkinator," which emerged in September, shortly after the death of political commentator Charlie Kirk, to hype the $KIRKINATOR token. Additionally, there are a series of recurring "sidekick" characters, such as "Epstron" and "Diddytron," which reference Jeffrey Epstein and rapper Sean Combs (also known as Diddy).

These accounts exist within the same narrative universe, often gaining traction by catering to racist and anti-Semitic stereotypes, accumulating millions of views. Discriminatory language frequently appears in the short videos, repeatedly revolving around the so-called "racial purification" plot.

The purpose of this shocking content is singular: to generate interaction and engagement. The ultimate goal is to direct public attention toward so-called "meme coins," a type of cryptocurrency that theoretically rises in value as the meme spreads. Early meme coins (like $DOGE) leveraged existing internet culture, while derivative characters like George Droyd and their ilk are entirely artificially created by crypto speculators.

This trick usually begins at pump.fun, a platform that allows users to easily register and trade digital tokens. Once developers create a token, they share it in trusted Telegram groups or X communities, where investors brainstorm how to artificially generate attention for the related meme, known as "mindshare." Then, they use AI to generate provocative videos, hoping to make the meme go viral and attract "ordinary people"—those unfamiliar with meme coin culture but potentially drawn in as retail investors. Once the coin's price rises, the original core group will choose to "rug pull," selling off and cashing out for profit.

In reality, the number of people actually buying these tokens is often only in the thousands. But because the barriers to creating cryptocurrencies and publishing AI-generated junk content are extremely low, the coin creators can easily repeat this cycle, profiting from "manufacturing cultural phenomena."

Meanwhile, these memes often begin to "grow on their own." When other creators realize they have viral potential, they imitate and reproduce them for money or online clout. The characters "Kirkinator" and "George Droyd" have already been repeatedly used by several influencers who have no connection to the original token creators.

However, with each reinterpretation, crypto brokers continue to profit. For example, a tweet about Kirkinator in October garnered 8 million views, causing the price of $KIRKINATOR to surge fivefold, only to drop back down within days. For those who sold at the peak, this profit was built on millions of X users watching a video—the content of which was "George Droyd being killed by Kirkinator after stealing Epstein's files."

Unfortunately, the more sensational the video, the easier it is to go viral. Violent and offensive imagery generates more comments and longer watch times, both of which are rewarded by algorithms. The coin creators have learned to exploit this mechanism for personal gain. Even Instagram or X users who are unaware of these cryptocurrencies may find themselves repeatedly encountering these extremely uncomfortable clickbait contents.

We are being drawn into a vortex: loosely regulated cryptocurrency sites, readily available AI tools, and social platforms that allow aggressive memes to proliferate, all intersecting.

As a scholar studying the evolution of internet language, I find this deeply concerning: online trends are being artificially manufactured with the sole purpose of manipulating us. We can no longer be sure that memes are "naturally generated"—they could be part of a profit-driven chain at any moment.

Even if a meme is not directly created by crypto brokers, it is almost immediately appropriated by them. Every new cultural reference is almost instantly registered as a token on pump.fun and artificially propped up, just to allow certain individuals to profit.

The end result is that all of us become more loosely connected to reality. More and more memes will be invented or amplified, forcing internet users to constantly question what they can still believe; and continuous exposure to this repugnant discourse environment will make it seem "more acceptable." The only way out is to fight to reclaim the internet and stop those who seek to poison it.