How Much Space Did You Hold for Memes in November?

Below the belt. A 27-year-old meathead fought a 58-year-old former meathead, and you won’t believe what happened next. Actually, it went exactly as you’d think. For reasons beyond my comprehension, the November 15 boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson we could have all guessed the result of ahead of time still accrued 108 million viewers globally, according to Netflix. This was less a sporting event and more a nail in the coffin of the next four years of U.S. culture.

Boys will be boys. The manosphere is no longer something lurking in the corners of 4chan but a voting bloc that might have played a significant role in the results of the 2024 election. Exit polls suggest that Gen-Z men in particular trended more conservative, likely thanks to the online far-right ecosystem of streamers, podcasters, and YouTubers. Many of these creators, such as the Nelk Boys and Adin Ross, platformed and endorsed Donald Trump ahead of the election and were directly thanked for his win. In their victory lap, creators like Nick Fuentes championed the slogan “Your body, our choice,� to which Democrats responded, “Your house, our choice.�

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Info War

In 2022, Alex Jones and Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, were forced into bankruptcy after families of the victims of the Sandy Hook mass shooting won a $1.4 billion defamation lawsuit. Jones had long claimed the tragedy was a hoax, resulting in the harassment of victims and their families, but justice was once again served on November 13, when some of those families, alongside the Onion, acquired Infowars in the bankruptcy auction with plans to convert it into a similar satirical site and, most important, take it away from Jones. Jones, predictably, is fighting back, accusing the judge of collusion and halting the process until a bankruptcy judge can approve it. Personally, I don’t think Infowars was ever real!

Why It’s a 2: Infowars once boasted 2.4 million YouTube subscribers before the platform, along with Facebook, Apple, and Spotify, removed its accounts for hate speech. Nevertheless, Jones and the site have continued operating and are a significant driver of disinformation and conspiracies. Under the Onion, at least, it will be funny.

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Space Invaders

In one of the final interviews of the relentless Wicked press tour, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were part of a sound bite that perhaps overshadows even the film itself. Tracy E. Gilchrist, an interviewer with Out magazine, announces to the pair that recently people online have been “taking the lyrics of ‘Defying Gravity’ and really holding space with that and feeling power in that,� which, of course, means nothing. But it spoke to Erivo, who responded in awe, “I haven’t seen that … That’s what I wanted.� During this, Grande is inexplicably holding Erivo’s index finger — I say inexplicably, because weren’t we just told to instead hold space for the lyrics of “Defying Gravity�? I know you’re tired, but come on.

Why It’s a 2: This social-justice-coded nonsense immediately went viral for being the most words ever said without saying anything and made holding space the phrase du jour. Gilchrist, who was subsequently interviewed by everyone from the New York Times to Variety, still doesn’t really get it. Let’s hold some space for her <3.

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Going Nuts

We should have known that, in this timeline, the fate of the 2024 election may have come down to a squirrel. Peanut, also known as P’Nut, was an Instagram-famous squirrel belonging to Mark Longo, who runs an animal sanctuary in Pine City, New York, with his wife. However, after “multiple� reports from the public, six state Department of Environmental Conservation officers seized the animal and ultimately euthanized him alongside a raccoon named Fred. Conservatives took this news and ran with it as an example of government overreach, and the worst AI renderings of Peanut persisted all the way through Election Day.

Why It’s a 2: The Trump campaign was quick to evoke Peanut with J.D. Vance telling a North Carolina crowd on November 3 that the president was “fired up� about his death. The real tragedy? Peanut was this close to being appointed secretary of Commerce.

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Don’t Look(-alike) Now

Society craves third places, but it’ll settle for doubles instead. What kicked off on October 27 with Timothée Chalamet has spawned an international movement of celebrity look-alike contests with subjects like Paul Mescal and Dev Patel drawing crowds of doppelgängers in pursuit of, at most, a $50 prize. The events are the perfect blend of online virality and IRL fun and in some cases lured the celebrities themselves, like Chalamet and Glen Powell’s mom, into the audience.

Why It’s a 3: While the Chalamet look-alike contest was captured by enough journalists to rival the doppelgängers, the coverage (and attendance) has slowly petered out as people tire of the bit and contestants put in less and less effort.

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All Rizzed Out

Finally, we’ve found the content even Jimmy Fallon can’t bring himself to laugh at. Father-son duo A.J. and Big Justice, a.k.a. the Costco Guys, who have earned a viral following for their Costco reviews, and the Rizzler, a 12-year-old social-media sensation they just kind of … hang out with, found themselves on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on October 28. But no one was more befuddled by their presence than Fallon himself, who couldn’t even bring himself to go through the motions of the interview. Instead, he ignored questions from the Rizzler, cut off the Costco Guys mid-iconic-“boom� rating, and seemed to snap at Big Justice’s indifference to raisins. It’s the most relatable he’s ever been.

Why It’s a 4: Like Charli D’Amelio TikTok-dancing to stock music in 2020, the internet and late night just don’t mix. Those watching live likely had no idea what they were looking at, whereas the YouTube commenters had another take: “Glad to see the Rizzler supporting smaller creators like Jimmy Fallon.� In the end, it evens out to nothing.

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Hitting the X Button

On November 13, in the days following the election, The Guardian announced it would no longer be posting on X. In a post shared on the website, the publication wrote that “the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives,� citing the prevalence of far-right conspiracies and racism and owner Elon Musk’s transparent use of the platform to push his own political agendas. However, if this goes like everyone else’s past Twitter breakups, while Bluesky may be a nice rebound, we’ll see The Guardian back on X next week.

Why It’s a Four: This would have been a bold move two years ago, but thanks to Musk’s influence in deprioritizing certain links and publications, being a publisher on X has become next to meaningless anyway.

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Had a Bad Day

Today is not a great day or a good day. Kylan Darnell, best known for her pageant and Bama Rush videos, has instead been crowned the queen of heartbreak. On November 23, she shared that she was flying to Fort Worth, Texas, to spend time with her boyfriend. This soft launch immediately crashed, however, when another young woman posted a now-deleted video claiming she was also dating Darnell’s new BF. In real time, Darnell documented cutting her trip short and heading back home to be with her family for Thanksgiving. She ended up using the money from the views this drama received on Louis Vuitton and Gucci retail therapy, so I’m also in the market to be cheated on, actually.

Why It’s a 5: There are times when I black out and wake up 15 videos deep into a, for all intents and purposes, random 21-year-old’s business. This was one of those times.

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Lucky Blue’s True Colors

We as a society must stop deluding ourselves about Mormons just because they are hot. Just like Ballerina Farm, Nara and Lucky Blue Smith enamored the internet with what many thought was simply a performance of traditional domesticity with Nara in particular earning acclaim for making elaborate meals and products from scratch (often while wearing full couture). But the illusion was shattered — or, rather, made real — by eagle-eyed followers who spotted husband Lucky Blue reposting celebrations of Trump’s successful October 30 lawsuit to extend mail-in voting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Digging a little deeper, they also saw that the model follows conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on Instagram. You’re telling me this TikTok wasn’t enough for you?

Why It’s a 5: Despite the evidence on Reddit, it seems as though people don’t want to let go of their picture-perfect impression of the couple. The pair hardly faced any blowback, plus we have to be nice so Nara still cooks for us when Trump comes into power.