NPC (meme)

In 2016, the concept was revived in a 4chan post by an anonymous user who initiated the NPC meme, titled "Are you an NPC?", detailing the behaviour of individuals acting similarly to non-player characters in video games by repeatedly using phrases such as "JUST BE YOURSELF",{{cite web |last=D'Anastasio|first=Cecilia|authorlink=Cecilia D'Anastasio|url=https://kotaku.com/how-the-npc-meme-tries-to-dehumanize-sjws-1829552261 |title=How The 'NPC' Meme Tries To Dehumanize 'SJWs' |date=October 5, 2018 |website=Kotaku|publisher=G/O Media |access-date=December 24, 2019 |archive-date=January 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112095626/https://kotaku.com/how-the-npc-meme-tries-to-dehumanize-sjws-1829552261 |url-status=live }} and ended the post with the following description of people the NPC meme intends to depict.

{{Blockquote

|text=If you get in a discussion with them it's always the same buzzwords and hackneyed arguments. They're the kind of people who make a show of discomfort when you break the status quo like by breaking the normie barrier to invoke a real discussion. it's like in a [video game] when you accidentally talk to somebody twice and they give you the exact lines word for word once more.

|author=Anonymous

|title="Are you an NPC?"

|source=4chan (July 7, 2016){{efn|The text was accompanied by a drawing from a Frog and Toad story concerning a to-do list, with below it "1. {{Strikethrough|Wake Up}}".}}

}}

The design of the NPC meme character is based on Wojak,{{cite web|date=July 29, 2019|title=NPC Wojak - Google Trends|url=https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&geo=US&q=npc%20wojak|access-date=August 19, 2020|website=Google Trends|archive-date=June 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623070654/https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y|url-status=live}} a meme created in Microsoft Paint in 2010.{{Know Your Meme|wojak|Wojak}}. {{Cite web |url=https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/wojak |title=Wojak |date=9 July 2015 |access-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-date=January 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112095619/https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/wojak |url-status=bot: unknown }}. Retrieved December 31, 2019. Unlike the NPC meme, the Wojak meme (also known as Feels Guy) appeared first on the image hosting website vichan and has mainly been used for expression of feelings, most often melancholy or regret.

The NPC meme became popular in far-right Internet spaces, being used to describe those who do not share conservative political views—particularly liberals.{{cite web|url=https://eu.worcestermag.com/story/lifestyle/columns/2023/05/31/connell-sanders-only-a-game-right-a-troubling-role-in-real-life/70267221007/|title=Only a Game, Right?|last=Connell Sanders|first=Sarah|date=May 31, 2023|website=Worcester Magazine|access-date=October 9, 2023|quote=NPC... became popular in far-right spaces like 4chan.}} Writing for The New York Times, Kevin Roose called it a "collective mascot for the far-right commenters online." During the weeks leading up to the 2018 midterm elections in the United States, the NPC meme gained remarkable attention, with relatively high media coverage, publication of new NPC memes online, and several noticeable events. A large number of animated videos based on the NPC meme were uploaded to YouTube in the second half of October 2018, and Google searches for the term "NPC Wojak" peaked around the same time. In October 2018, a large number of Twitter accounts were created which presented themselves as NPCs, and more than 1,500 such accounts were subsequently banned by Twitter. In November, the far-right InfoWars held a competition promoting the creation of NPC memes. The winning entry, by a Twitter user named "Carpe Donktum", was later retweeted by then-U.S. President Donald Trump in February 2019 before it was removed for copyright infringement.{{Cite news|last=Alexander|first=Julia|date=15 February 2019|title=President of United States reposts video from winner of Infowars meme contest|work=The Verge|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/15/18226716/trump-meme-twitter-infowars-winner|access-date=8 January 2022|archive-date=8 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108215113/https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/15/18226716/trump-meme-twitter-infowars-winner|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Krause|first=Alexander|date=16 February 2019|title=Trump reposts video from winner of Infowars meme contest after first version removed for copyright violation|work=Insider|url=https://www.insider.com/trump-infowars-meme-removed-for-copyright-violation-2019-2|access-date=8 January 2022}} The re-election campaign for then-Iowa Representative Steve King also tweeted an NPC meme around the same time, aimed at the sitting Democratic members of Congress.{{Cite news|last=Jones|first=Sarah|date=23 January 2020|title=Steve King Is Building a Dank Fascist Meme Stash|work=New York|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/01/steve-king-needs-help-building-dank-fascist-meme-stash.html|access-date=30 May 2022|archive-date=7 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407081705/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/01/steve-king-needs-help-building-dank-fascist-meme-stash.html|url-status=live}}

The number of searches for the search term "NPC Wojak" remained relatively constant during 2019, though at a level significantly lower than its peak from early October through mid November 2018.

Although the NPC meme was created six years after the Wojak meme, the NPC meme rapidly gained attention in comparison with the Wojak meme. On the website of the meme community Know Your Meme, the NPC meme had 858,000 page views, 33 videos, 597 images and 749 comments as of December 31, 2019. This can be compared to the Wojak meme on which NPC is based, which had 787,000 page views, 6 videos, 332 images and 47 comments as of December 31, 2019.

In 2022, a variation of the NPC meme called "I Support The Current Thing" was popularized. According to Slate, the meme was mainly used by the political right to mock liberals for "perceived conformism, frivolousness, and distractibility" who "blindly flit from news story to news story, issue to issue, changing their Facebook profile pics and Twitter display names to 'support' whatever 'Current Thing' dominates news and commentary. The current thing has been the Russian invasion of Ukraine, essential workers, the Women's March, Notre Dame after it caught on fire, etc." In March 2022, Elon Musk tweeted a version of the meme.{{Cite web |last=Read |first=Max |date=2022-05-09 |title=What Is "The Current Thing"? |url=https://slate.com/technology/2022/05/current-thing-meme-twitter-elon-musk-marc-andreessen.html |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=Slate |language=en |archive-date=2022-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513110815/https://slate.com/technology/2022/05/current-thing-meme-twitter-elon-musk-marc-andreessen.html |url-status=live }}

In appearance, the NPC character is grey in colour, and usually short in stature{{cite web |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/f/612312/twitter-has-released-more-than-10-million-tweets-linked-to-election-interference/ |title=Twitter has released more than 10 million tweets linked to election interference |date=October 17, 2018 |website=MIT Technology Review |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=January 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112095620/https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/10/17/139722/twitter-has-released-more-than-10-million-tweets-linked-to-election-interference/ |url-status=live }} simple in its design, with an expressionless face,{{Citation|last=Demsky|first=Jeffrey|title=That Is Really Meme: Nazi Pepe the Frog and the Subversion of Anglo-American Holocaust Remembrance|date=2021|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-79221-3_7|work=Nazi and Holocaust Representations in Anglo-American Popular Culture, 1945–2020: Irreverent Remembrance|pages=105–125|editor-last=Demsky|editor-first=Jeffrey|series=Palgrave Studies in Cultural Heritage and Conflict|place=Cham|publisher=Springer International Publishing|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-79221-3_7|isbn=978-3-030-79221-3|s2cid=238951868|access-date=2022-01-19|archive-date=2022-01-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119152410/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-79221-3_7|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}} a triangular nose and a blank stare. The shape of the NPC face resembles that of Wojak, and is drawn crudely.

The initial NPC refers to non-player character, a term used in video-games for characters the player cannot control.{{cite magazine|title=The Next Generation 1996 Lexicon A to Z: NPC (Nonplayer Character)|magazine=Next Generation|issue=15 |date=March 1996|page=38}} A non-player character typically interacts with the player through simple and repetitive actions, such as saying the same sentence each time the player approaches the NPC. For example: "Greetings!" or "What's the gossip guys?". As such, NPCs have "no internality, agency, or capacity for critical thought", they rely on scripted lines and do not think for themselves. Following the analogy of non-player characters, the NPC meme is used to mock individuals the maker perceives as lacking introspection, individual opinions, or critical thinking, generally political opponents. Due to NPC memes' greater popularity among the political right, the NPC is generally portrayed as parroting left-wing positions, but both left- and right-wing NPC variants exist.

The NPC meme has been featured in major and minor news outlets alike, with frequent coverage during the peak of the NPCs popularity in fall 2018. According to The Verge, a few articles (including one by The New York Times published on October 16, 2018) sparked a "domino effect" and led to increased spread of the meme on Twitter, YouTube and through articles.

In October 2018, users of r/The_Donald, a large subreddit that supported United States President Donald Trump,{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48783866 |title=Reddit places pro-Donald-Trump forum in quarantine - BBC News |date=June 27, 2019 |website=BBC |access-date=December 27, 2019 |archive-date=June 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630000313/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48783866 |url-status=live }} coordinated in creating accounts presented as NPCs on the microblogging and social networking service Twitter. According to The Week, the accounts spread "bland, politically correct messages intended to mimic and provoke liberal pronouncements". Following the mass creation of NPC Twitter accounts, the term "NPC" was used over 30,000 times on Twitter in a time span of 24 hours. Twitter responded to the event by banning more than 1,500 of its users presenting themselves as NPCs. The created accounts typically used profile pictures of NPC with slight modifications, such as colorful hair or partially covering masks. According to one or more anonymous sources quoted by The Week and The New York Times, the users were banned for violating a term of use by Twitter against "intentionally misleading election-related content", ahead of the United States 2018 midterm election. The claim that NPC memes were used to spread misinformation about the 2018 United States midterm election was also reported by other news agencies, including The Verge, BBC and The Independent. According to the BBC, the decision by Twitter to remove NPC accounts has upset many conservatives.

In 2019, the NPC meme was used in the modification of two existing billboards in the United States.{{cite web |url=https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/john-oliver-billboard-ad-meme/ |title=Guerrilla artists turn John Oliver billboard ad into right-wing meme |last=Gilmour |first=David |date=February 19, 2019 |website=The Daily Dot |access-date=December 27, 2019 |archive-date=January 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112095623/https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/john-oliver-billboard-ad-meme/ |url-status=live }}

On January 13, 2019, the conservative street artist group The Faction modified a billboard featuring American comedian Bill Maher in West Hollywood using the NPC meme.{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bill-maher-labeled-npc-by-conservative-street-artists-1175703 |title=Bill Maher Billboard Targeted by Conservative Street Artists |last=Bond |first=Paul |date=January 13, 2019 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=December 27, 2019 |archive-date=January 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114014951/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bill-maher-labeled-npc-by-conservative-street-artists-1175703 |url-status=live }}

On February 19, 2019, a similar modification was performed on a billboard featuring English comedian John Oliver in Los Angeles, in which the face of Oliver was replaced by that of an NPC, and text "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" was replaced by "The Orange Man Bad Show with John Oliver".{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-oliver-jussie-smollett-criticized-la-street-art-1187538 |title=John Oliver, Jussie Smollett Criticized in Hijacked Billboard, L.A. Street Art |last=Bond |first=Paul |date=February 18, 2019 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=December 27, 2019 |archive-date=January 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112095623/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-oliver-jussie-smollett-criticized-la-street-art-1187538 |url-status=live }} The modified billboard also included the text "*MATRIX APPROVED NPC PROGRAMMING" and a speech balloon from the NPC containing words such as "CHEETOH"{{sic}} and "DRUMPH" with random symbols in green text, resembling the text shown in The Matrix. According to The Daily Dot, the modification of the billboard featuring Oliver, also credited to The Faction, was an attempt to counteract the media's supposed "Trump derangement syndrome".

On March 22, 2023, in Mill Creek, Washington, an 11-year-old boy was reportedly stabbed after ironically calling a 29-year-old man an NPC at a Dollar Tree.{{cite news |last1=Garrett |first1=Shawn |date=April 18, 2023 |title=Man charged in Mill Creek stabbing of 11-year-old who called him an 'NPC' |url=https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/man-charged-mill-creek-stabbing-11-year-old-who-called-him-an-npc/P4GFLRTBZRBQXBAU2PKL7NO6HA/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420030025/https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/man-charged-mill-creek-stabbing-11-year-old-who-called-him-an-npc/P4GFLRTBZRBQXBAU2PKL7NO6HA/ |archive-date=20 April 2023 |access-date=20 April 2023 |work=www.kiro7.com |agency=KIRO-TV}}

{{Portal|Internet|Politics|Video games|Conservatism}}

• List of Internet phenomena
• Philosophical zombie – a philosophical thought experiment that imagines a being which appears to display consciousness but is actually not conscious.
• Dehumanization

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Know Your Meme|npc-wojak|NPC}}
• [https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/NPC NPC Meme Generator]
• [https://www.reddit.com/r/NPCMemes/ NPC Memes] subreddit at Reddit

{{Generation Z slang}}

{{4chan}}

Category:Internet memes introduced in 2016

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Category:Politics of the United States

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Category:Internet characters introduced in 2016