Born to Repost, Forced to Like / Favorite

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About

Born to Repost, Forced to Favorite or Born to Repost, Forced to Like refers to a viral spam comment and catchphrase based on the Born to X, Forced to Y phrasal template meme, which was popularized on TikTok in early March 2024. The expression used in the trend is attributed to content a person wants to repost but feels shameful or embarrassing, meaning they then end up just liking or favoriting it instead. The comment has also inspired memes and videos of people tired of the spam texts appearing on the platform.

Origin

Memetic content about the "Born to X, Forced to Y" snowclone has been present on the internet since December 2018. One of the earliest known variations of the "Born To Repost, Forced To Favorite" variant appeared in a video posted on February 28th, 2024, by TikTok^[1] user @_zami_888 in which he added the overlay texts "born to repost" and "forced to add to 'favorites'" (shown below), amassing more than 2,900 plays and 250 likes in a month.

@_zami_888 cant let them see it. #viral #repost ♬ original sound – hannah

Spread

The phrase "Born to Repost, Forced to Favorite" became a prevalent spam comment on TikTok in early March 2024, used in videos that people feel ashamed or embarrassed to share.

For example, on March 5th, 2024, TikTok^[2] user @tinklemeier posted a manga drawing (shown below, left) of a repressed student paired with the macro, "Me when the born to repost forced to like posts get to me," which amassed roughly 750 likes in three weeks.

On March 8th, TikTok^[3] user @gracesm1th1 posted a video of her paired with the "born to repost, forced to favorite" phrase (shown below, right), which garnered over 514,000 plays and 92,000 likes in three weeks.