MA-0007 · first seen 2005
Pepe the Frog
A cartoon frog created in 2005 that became one of the Internet’s most-used faces, and one of its most contested.
- Status
- RisingClimbing 6% or more against the previous 90 days
- Trend score
- 44/100Estimated
- Change, 90 days
- +6%Estimated
- Peak
- 90Jun 2016
- Years active
- 16Index of 30 or more
- First seen
- 20052005
Popularity over time
Monthly attention from Jun 2005 to Oct 2026. Hover or tab through the chart for each month.
- First appearance
- Went viral
- Peak
- Decline
Attention index, 0 to 100 on one scale for the whole archive. Estimated from each meme’s key dates, not measured.
About
Pepe was created by the artist Matt Furie for his 2005 comic Boy’s Club. By 2008 a panel in which the character says “feels good man” was circulating on 4chan, and the frog became a vocabulary of moods: happy, sad, smug, “rare”. Through 2014 and 2015 it spread across Tumblr, Reddit and Twitter, posted even by celebrities.
During the 2016 US election, some far-right groups adopted the character, prompting the Anti-Defamation League to add certain variants to its database of hate symbols in September 2016, while noting that most uses are not hateful. Furie repeatedly objected to the appropriation and in May 2017 “killed” Pepe in a comic. The 2020 documentary Feels Good Man tells the story.
Origin
The character debuted in Matt Furie’s 2005 comic Boy’s Club; the “feels good man” panel reached 4chan around 2008.
2005
Viralization
Spread across Tumblr, Reddit and Twitter in 2014 and 2015 as a set of reaction images.
2015
Peak
September 2016, when the character was at the centre of the US election and a statement by the ADL.
Jun 2016
Timeline
From the first post to where it stands today.
Origin
Boy’s Club
Matt Furie introduces Pepe in his self-published comic.
Early adoption
Feels good man
A panel in which Pepe says “feels good man” circulates on 4chan.
Viral
A frog for every mood
Rare Pepes, reaction images and celebrity posts carry the character to a mass audience.
Peak
Contested symbol
The Anti-Defamation League adds certain variants to its hate symbol database, noting that most uses are not hateful.
Decline
Pepe is killed
After repeated objections to its misuse, Matt Furie publishes a comic in which Pepe dies.
Current
Feels Good Man
A documentary about Pepe and his creator premieres at the Sundance Film Festival.
Related memes
Chosen by shared era, category, platform and cultural link.
Wojak
57/100+9%Rising2009Same conversation · Same era
This Is Fine
47/100+7%Rising2013Same conversation · Same era
Trollface
24/100+1%Classic2008Same conversation · Same kind of meme
Gigachad
55/100+10%Rising2017Same conversation · Same kind of meme