meme-review

KYM Review: The Top Trolls, Rumors And Hoaxes Of 2024

A collage of the top trolls, rumors and hoaxes of 2024.
A collage of the top trolls, rumors and hoaxes of 2024.
By Owen Carry
847 views
• Published about 16 hours ago

Published about 16 hours ago

This year was a big one for tomfoolery. People couldn't stop rumoring, trolling and hoaxing in 2024 just to feel something.

Who could forget Beyoncé knowing everything or the man who kept going to Taco Bell and telling them to "Put a girl on?" Compared to last year, there were numerous mental lapses to choose from that fooled everyone for at least a second.

For our own sanity, so that we can please learn from history, let's view everything that got us in 2024.

Wobby Killing His Neighbor With a Missile Rumor

An unsuspecting neighbor knew nothing about the furry standing outside, aiming a weapons-grade missile at his domicile.

  • Type: Rumor
  • Duration: April-August 2024
  • How It Started: A lesser-known Florida man named Andrew Pepin was arrested for allegedly shooting his roommate with a rifle in the heat of a platonic lover's quarrel. The police report read in all caps, "WEAPON OFFENSE – MISSILE INTO DWELLING," inferring that the weapon was massive — like a Trevor cutscene in GTA V.
  • How It Unraveled: A few months later, the furry community on Twitter / X realized that Mr. Pepin could be one of their own. Wobby was the name of the fursona in question whose unmasked, human face closely resembled the perp. A raucous rumor spread that Wobby had killed his neighbor with a ballistic missile.

Hello Kitty Girl and UCF Professor Travis Meade Dating Rumor

University tea about a professor's new fling spread outside the dorm room walls, making everyone cringe in unison.




  • Type: Rumor
  • Duration: October 2024
  • How It Started: Travis Meade, a computer science professor at the University of Central Florida (UCF), was fired at the start of the school year. Students on the college's subreddit speculated that his new teacher's assistant (TA) might be to blame, as the two were purportedly always seen walking around, laughing and touching each other. She was a so-called "Hello Kitty Girl" who allegedly wrote childish love notes calling him "Daddy" and taped them to his office door. He kept them there, too.
  • How It Unraveled: A TikToker from the area decided to spread the rumor and the drama went viral across platforms. Age-gap relationship discourse flooded the timeline, mixed with general cringe reactions about 20-something Hello Kitty girlies, in general. As people kept posting, others tried to debunk the claim, saying that Professor Meade simply took another job. Not everyone was convinced though.

Nikocado Avocado's Weight Loss

The mukbanger who everyone loves to hate announced a big reveal, claiming to be "Two steps ahead."




  • Type: Troll
  • Duration: September 2024
  • How It Started: Mukbang YouTuber Nikocado Avocado is commonly imagined with overflowing trays of spicy ramen, a breathing tube in his nose and a screaming spouse to his right. The rage bait master has honed his craft over the years. He was once a healthy, vegan vlogger. Then, suddenly, he was back to his original form in a video called, "Two Steps Ahead."
  • How It Unraveled: With a villainous smize, Nikocado Avocado told his viewers, "People are the most messed up creatures on the entire planet," seemingly taking a moral high ground over the hate he's always received for his weight. The internet exploded with memes, comparing him to the The Riddler and praising him (out of fear).

Haitian Immigrants Eating Pets and Geese

A fake news story that polarized the American public led to memes and real-world consequences.




  • Type: Hoax
  • Duration: August-September 2024
  • How It Started: In Springfield, Ohio, a minor post in a crime watch Facebook group warned neighbors of Haitian immigrants purportedly hunting and eating the local animals, including dogs, cats and geese. It was later reposted to Twitter / X in a tweet that tagged Fox News.

Chase Bank ATM Glitch

People thought they hit it big time before a supposed ATM "hack" turned out to be plain and simple fraud.


  • Type: Rumor
  • Duration: August 2024
  • How It Started: A Twitter / X user realized that if he deposited a big check into his Chase bank account, the ATM would have his money ready for withdrawal immediately. It seemed like a simple way to make $250,000 worth of bills that basically materialized before your very eyes. But, people had to act fast before the "glitch" was fixed.
  • How It Unraveled: People witnessing the idiocracy online Community Noted the videos, explaining, no, that's check fraud and that's a federal crime. As quickly as the hack went viral, it ceased to exist. However, that doesn't mean the offenses just went away. Some customers were actually sued by the banks in the following months.

Chabad Synagogue Tunnels

Did Jewish Brooklynites dig tunnels underneath a synagogue? Yes, but their reasoning is still murky.


  • Type: Rumor
  • Duration: January 2024
  • How It Started: A viral video of New York police uncovering a secret tunnel in the main hall of a Brooklyn synagogue was one of the more confusing posts to start any year. The chaos inside was mirrored by Hasidim coming out of grates on the sidewalk outside. At the time, no one knew the purpose of the underground system.
  • How It Unraveled: High-ranking members of the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters released a statement, condemning the "odious actions" and hoping to restore the "sanctity of the synagogue." The sidewalk grate that the notorious man crawled out of was later sealed by city workers. Still, no one knows exactly why the tunnels were built and the rumor is still at large.

Richard Strocher

Unfortunately for some groyper out there, perhaps the most well-known "based, Gen Z conservative" on X is a gimmick account designed to rage bait.




  • Type: Troll
  • Duration: January-April 2024
  • How It Started: A young man named Richard Strocher (say it slowly) rose to the top of internet chatter when he tweeted about the Chabad Synagogue Tunnels incident. He claimed to hear Jewish people living under his apartment, further saying, "I AM NOT CRAZY." The self-proclaimed "Gen Z conservative" was just trying to get his story out there.
  • How It Unraveled: Onlookers quickly noticed that the dude's name was Richard Strocher and that his profile picture looked uncanny and wholly unappealing to an insane degree, like Nick Fuentes had a baby with Destiny. However, Strocher was too good to be true as people realized he was a troll. That being said, not everyone realized, and he went viral later on in the year for asking, "18. Single. Alpha Male. Do you find this attractive?"

Chris-Chan Child Rumor

The prospect of Chris-Chan finding love and happiness before her haters seemed to spark a mid-life crisis in most of them.




  • Type: Rumor
  • Duration: November 2024
  • How It Started: Infamous Lolcow Chris-Chan hinted on a Sonic speedrun livestream that a child was "coming into play." The little Chandler was supposedly spawning in 2025. When the news landed on Kiwi Farms, it was like a bomb went off.
  • How It Unraveled: Internet detectives began searching for the mother of the rumored child. Fingers largely pointed at Chris-Chan's alleged girlfriend, Flutter, whom she met in 2022. They've been spotted multiple times in public and Christine Weston Chandler even admitted that the two were dating in a video shortly after. But of course, none of her haters are proud of her. Memes about the situation are more worried about the Antichrist coming.

English or Spanish?

The question heard 'round the mall made straight guys everywhere within a 12-shop radius freeze in their tracks.
dr1nkz7 ib:Moe 𖣂︎ | song: static by steve lacy | #capcut #english #or #spanish #edit #trend #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #4k #hd #xyzbca #dr1nkz7 ♬ original sound – dr1nkz



  • Type: Troll
  • Duration: February-May 2024
  • How It Started: Arguably the most viral prank of the year was started by a bilingual TikToker named @alfonsopinpon_ who approached men at his local mall and first asked them, "English or Spanish?" The next question was more of a statement. He said, "Whoever moves first, is gay."
  • How It Unraveled: As his videos went viral, the "English or Spanish?" question became infamous. For those out of the loop, memes depicting sigma men freezing upon hearing the phrase were confusing. But of course, the most fascinating phenomenon was how the men stopped in time, getting into a staredown with the trend's creator, trying to prove their heterosexuality at all costs, like a glitch in the Zynternet NPC matrix.

J.D. Vance Couch Story

Trump's VP pick looked worse and worse in the public eye as time went on, mostly because of his rumored relationship with a childhood couch.




  • Type: Hoax
  • Duration: July-August 2024
  • How It Started: A Twitter / X user claimed to have read J.D. Vance's memoir Hillbilly Elegy after he was chosen as Trump's running mate. He was shocked by the underreported moment in a later chapter when Vance admits to putting a latex glove between his couch cushions and going for it. The plausibility of the claim proved itself as the hoax circulated on social media ahead of the election.
  • How It Unraveled: The story seemed to really bother Vance and his supporters, especially after Kamala Harris and Tim Walz began joking about it in front of a live audience. A competitor hoax about Governor Walz drinking horse juice tried to rival the Vance-Couch romance, but it kind of fell flat. Post-election, maybe some of the transition team are still worried about him entering the Oval Office and seeing that sweet, sweet leather.

Looking for more of this year's best viral phenomena and memes? Be sure to check out our other 2024 meme roundups below:

Tags: 2024, rumors, hoaxes, hoax, rumor, troll, trolls, trolling, 2024 review, top hoaxes 2024, top rumors 2024, top trolls 2024, best hoaxes of 2024, editorials, know your meme,

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