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What's With The 'Folk' Memes? The Slang Term 'Folk ðŸ˜' Being Used In Memes On Instagram Explained
The word "folk" has become a meme slang term this month. Why? It's because of several "AI Baby Holding Laugh" and "Druski Ravens Edit" memes, mostly created by one Instagram user.
Often paired with the Loudly Crying Face Emoji, ðŸ˜, as seen in the precursor "Son ðŸ˜" meme, "Folk ðŸ˜" is becoming more and more prevalent across the web, especially within so-called "irony" circles on Instagram, TikTok and X / Twitter.
But where did the "Folk" meme come from? Who started it and why? Let's explain.
What Does 'Folk' Mean In Memes?
"Folk ðŸ˜" is used to convey hysterical laughter or the act of crying laughing. The 😠Emoji carries much of the weight, as it perfectly embodies the emotion, in line with its use alongside the slang term "I'm Crine."
The word "folk," in this context, addresses an imagined group of people who are laughing along with whoever wrote the caption, as if to say all of the folks are laughing.
However, as the word "folk" has devolved in memes since the start of December 2025, it's not uncommon to see it recaptioned into any old meme template as a substitute for "bro" or "blud," among other AAVE words that act as pronouns in memes for a human subject.
Where Did The 'Folk' Meme Come From?
The use of "folk" in memes loosely comes from online AAVE, evident in tweets from this year from Black internet users like @TEVOSPRITEMAN. He shared a tweet in September that used the word, gaining over 1.8 million views in just a few months.
However, "folk" largely gained memetic traction due to an Instagram user named @bigsoup.taco, who shared the first currently known meme to say, "Folk ðŸ˜," in late October 2025. In the following weeks, they continued to use it, even on their alt account @idroptacoinmysoup.
How Is 'Folk' Used In Memes?
Over the past few months, "Folk ðŸ˜" has entered the popular lexicon, largely due to an iteration of the "AI Baby Holding Laugh" meme that used it as a text overlay caption. The image macro in question spread in TikTok comment sections as a reaction image used to laugh react to anything.
It's unclear who made the image macro, but we found it on TikTok as early as November 14th, in the comment section of @babyboykevv's video that first spread the "Niche Baby" to the new app from Instagram.
Because of Instagram user @bigsoup.taco, "Folk ðŸ˜" has become cosmically wedded to the budding "Druski Ravens" meme, showing internet comedian Druski as NFL running back Derrick Henry.
If @bigsoup.taco's influence continues to spread heading into the new year, it's possible that the AI Baby will be usurped by Druski Henry in the Folk 😠universe, as it blends with other popping templates like "This Jit Cracks Birds."
What Are Some More 'Folk' Memes?
For the full history of Folk ðŸ˜, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.
