The Memes of 2024
A summer that was either brat or demure
Short Video and Brainrot, 2021–2026
Charli XCX’s album Brat came out in June and its acid-green cover turned into a style, then a campaign slogan. A baby hippo in Thailand became the world’s favourite animal in September, and a relaxed cartoon dog went from an Instagram drawing to a crypto token in three months.
In April, the United States signed a law requiring TikTok’s sale or a ban. In December, Oxford University Press chose “brain rot” as its word of the year.
Top memes of 2024
4 memes in the archive peaked this year, and 4 first went viral.
1Moo Deng
30/100−5%Falling2024Peaked in 2024
2Brat Summer
22/100−6%Falling2024Peaked in 2024
- −2%Falling2024
Peaked in 2024
2024, month by month
The leading memes of the year on one scale, 0 to 100. The yellow dot marks each one’s highest month.
Moo Deng
Moo Deng: Jul 3, Aug 6, Sep 87, Oct 60, Nov 47, Dec 40 Brat Summer
Brat Summer: May 6, Jun 62, Jul 84, Aug 64, Sep 40, Oct 34, Nov 34, Dec 32 Very Demure, Very Mindful
Very Demure, Very Mindful: Jul 2, Aug 82, Sep 30, Oct 19, Nov 15, Dec 14 Skibidi Toilet
Skibidi Toilet: Jan 79, Feb 76, Mar 70, Apr 67, May 65, Jun 59, Jul 61, Aug 59, Sep 55, Oct 55, Nov 56, Dec 54 Chill Guy
Chill Guy: Jan 3, Feb 3, Mar 4, Apr 4, May 6, Jun 7, Jul 9, Aug 12, Sep 30, Oct 52, Nov 70, Dec 57 Wojak
Wojak: Jan 56, Feb 55, Mar 53, Apr 55, May 54, Jun 54, Jul 54, Aug 54, Sep 54, Oct 55, Nov 55, Dec 53
Attention index, 0 to 100 on one scale for the whole archive. Estimated from each meme’s key dates, not measured.
Timeline
Dated moments from the memes above, in order.
Kabosu dies. Kabosu, the dog in the photo, dies of leukaemia at the age of 18.
A song. Skrilla releases “Doot Doot (6 7)”.
A reference image. Used as shorthand for stoic impatience.
A template for releases. Studios and fans refer to “the next Barbenheimer” for any contrasting pair of releases.
Recreating the cover. Fans and brands recreate the album art and the Brat Generator spreads.
The album. Charli XCX releases Brat.
Film talk. Michael Bay’s production company is reported to be in talks about a film adaptation.
A summer. “Brat summer” becomes the shorthand for the season.
A birth. A pygmy hippo is born at Khao Kheow Open Zoo.
Politics. After President Biden withdraws, Charli XCX posts that “kamala IS brat” and a campaign account adopts the style.
A local star. The zoo begins sharing posts of the baby hippo.
A workplace guide. Jools Lebron posts a TikTok describing office behaviour as very demure and very mindful.
Copying the voice. Creators apply the phrase and its quiet delivery to everyday situations.
Brands arrive. Companies adopt the phrase in their own posts and advertising.
Over in a month. The phrase peaks within weeks of the first video.
A TikTok slideshow. A slideshow combining the artwork with other popular images sends it viral.
Everywhere. It spreads across TikTok, X and Instagram as a reaction image.
Declared over. Charli XCX says brat summer is over.
Worldwide. Clips of her splashing and glaring spread across the Internet.
Overused. Brand adoption and repetition end the joke.
Saturday Night Live. A sketch on Weekend Update parodies her fame.
Word of the year. Collins Dictionary names “brat” its word of the year.
A crypto token. Anonymous creators launch a token using the image, without the artist’s permission.
Copyright. The artist says he has copyrighted the artwork and issues takedown notices.
A Year in Search. She appears in Google’s year-in-review video as attention begins to fade.
What kind of memes
Categories across the memes active in 2024.