Milkshake Duck

Milkshake Duck is an Internet meme that describes phenomena that are initially perceived as positive, only to soon after be revealed as deeply flawed.[1][2] Oxford Dictionaries defined the term as "a person or character on social media that appears to be endearing at first, but is found to have an unappealing back story",[3] but did not consider usage of the neologism to be sufficiently long-lived or widespread to warrant inclusion in their dictionaries.[4]

The meme is a reference to a Twitter post on June 12, 2016 by Ben Ward, an Australian cartoonist using the online handle "pixelatedboat"[5]. The Twitter joke describes a fictional Internet viral phenomenon of a duck that drinks milkshakes, subsequently discovered to be racist. Ward described the Twitter message as "a pretty good joke" summing up a recent trend where popularity that comes via the Internet can be quickly washed away by discovering something troubling in a person's past. When asked in 2017, Ward was unsure what actually inspired him to make the joke, but recalls it was partially influenced by the Chewbacca Mask Lady viral phenomenon.[6][7][8]

The term was referenced on Gimlet Media's Reply All podcast both in episode #98, entitled "Fog of Covfefe"[9], and subsequently in episode #110, "The Antifa Supersoldier Spectacular".[10]

In December 2017, Oxford Dictionaries announced that the phrase was a runner up as word of the year, losing out to "youthquake".[3]

In January 2018, Australia's Macquarie Dictionary named "milkshake duck" as its 2017 word of the year.[11][12][13]

Notable instances

The phenomena had some notable examples prior to June 2017, in particular with Ken Bone during the 2016 United States Presidential debate, who was initially given positive exposure, until a questionable Reddit history was revealed after his appearances.[7] The demonstration of the independently-developed video game The Last Night was a highlight of Microsoft's press conference during the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017 due to its stylish cyberpunk visuals. However, one of its creators, Tim Soret, had been found to have previously spoken in support of the Gamergate controversy in 2014, which led several to criticize his views a day later and tarnished the game's image. Soret apologized the next day and stated his views on Gamergate had since changed. The "milkshake duck" term was quickly applied to the game.[7] Criticism over the game and the subsequent controversy over social media led to wider adoption of the term.[6]

In October 2018, the term "reverse milkshake duck" was used by a number of news outlets to describe the reversal of one's public image from problematic to positive.[14] A mother with the Twitter username BlueStarNavyMom3 posted a tweet putting forth a picture of her son as an example of an "anti-feminist" and associating him with the #HimToo hashtag.[15][16] The son, Pieter Hanson, was surprised by the posting and in a newly created Twitter account posted a message stating the opposite:

That was my Mom. Sometimes the people we love do things that hurt us without realizing it. Let’s turn this around. I respect and #BelieveWomen. I never have and never will support #HimToo. I’m a proud Navy vet, Cat Dad and Ally. Also, Twitter, your meme game is on point.[17]

The Verge writer Devon Maloney was one of the first to put a name to the reversal,[18] saying, "In what may have been the internet’s first-ever reverse milkshake-ducking, Pieter himself finally logged on a few hours later to clear his name once and for all."[19]

Vox's Aja Romano suggested the phenomenon "might actually be whatever the opposite of a Milkshake Duck is — when a viral moment starts out seeming awful but then becomes unexpectedly good."[20] The Guardian said, "Hanson’s story may be one of the first instances of the reversal, as the reality of his personality – a seemingly decent and inspiring young man – is a far cry from the sexist way we were introduced to him."[14] Slate described it as, "a viral villain outed as, despite it all, a righteous hero."[18]

Derivatives

A related concept to "milkshake duck" is that of the "problematic fave", describing a notable and popular person who, despite recent offensive or harmful statements or actions, manages to retain their popularity. Streamer PewDiePie is one example; several incidents related to his racially-charged comments in 2017 led to him losing his contract with Maker Studios, but his YouTube channel is still among the largest in terms of subscribers. Similarly, entrepreneur Elon Musk is also considered a "problematic fave" following his calling one of the Thai cave rescuers a "pedo guy" in response to criticism.[21]

Polygon writer Julia Alexander considered that terms like "milkshake duck" and "problematic fav" are a symptom of current cultural conflict on the Internet in which users are ready to be outraged and have the ability to search a person's public Internet history to find statements to support that, and by that nature, anyone could be potentially classified as either of these. Alexander suggests that to avoid the scrutiny of these labels, one should not worry about what statements they may have made, but that they show awareness they made them and that they have grown past or changes away from them.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "What's a Milkshake Duck, and why is everyone talking about it?". The Daily Dot. 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2017-06-27.
  2. ↑ Tait, Amelia (20 August 2017). "The internet dictionary: what is a Milkshake Duck?". www.newstatesman.com. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  3. 1 2 "Youthquake' declared word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries". BBC News. 15 December 2017.
  4. ↑ "Word of the Year 2017: the shortlist". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 Jan 2018.
  5. ↑ Ward, Ben [@pixelatedboat] (June 12, 2016). "The whole internet loves Milkshake Duck, a lovely duck that drinks milkshakes! *5 seconds later* We regret to inform you the duck is racist" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. 1 2 Bromwich, Jonah Engel (2017-06-27). "How a Joke Becomes a Meme: The Birth of 'Milkshake Duck'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-06-27.
  7. 1 2 3 "Getting 'Milkshake Ducked': An Internet-Specific Tragedy of Our Time". Esquire. 2017-06-24. Retrieved 2017-06-27.
  8. ↑ Koerber, Brian. "Milkshake Duck: We need to stop idolizing unremarkable people on the internet". Mashable. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  9. ↑ "#98 Fog of Covfefe". Gimlet Media. June 8, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  10. ↑ "The Antifa Supersoldier Spectacular". Reply All. Gimlet Media. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  11. ↑ Webb, Tiger (15 January 2018). "Why 'milkshake duck' is the perfect choice for word of the year". ABC News. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  12. ↑ "The Committee's Choice for Word of the Year 2017 goes to..." Macquarie Dictionary. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  13. ↑ "'Milkshake duck' wins Australia word prize". BBC News. 2018. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  14. 1 2 O'Neil, Luke (2018-10-09). "#HimToo: how an attempt to criticize #MeToo went delightfully wrong". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  15. ↑ Flynn, Meagan (2018-10-09). "'This is MY son': Navy vet horrified as mom's tweet miscasts him as #HimToo poster boy — and goes viral". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  16. ↑ Hoffman, Ashley (2018-10-09). "'That Doesn't Represent Me.' The Man Whose Mom Made Him the Face of a Viral #HimToo Meme Wants No Part of It". Time. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  17. ↑ "Pieter Hanson on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  18. 1 2 Schwedel, Heather (2018-10-09). "Why Twitter's #HimToo Mother-and-Son Saga Was a Satisfying Social Media Moment". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  19. ↑ Maloney, Devon (2018-10-09). "Viral mom's #HimToo post about her Navy vet son backfires incredibly". The Verge. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  20. ↑ Romano, Aja (2018-10-09). "How a mom's "This Is My Son" anti-feminist brag went viral — and completely backfired". Vox. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  21. 1 2 Alexander, Julia (September 5, 2018). "Everyone is a problematic fave and everyone will Milkshake Duck". Polygon. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
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