About

CorrupTok, also known as CorruptCore, refers to a genre of TikTok memes that play on Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s alleged regime of corruption in the country, which is also well-known for scams. The meme started in mid-March 2025, following a similar format of the -core and -Tok suffix genre, in which people use video and images of President Tinubu to act like they are a corrupt leader of a territory trying to use government funds for personal benefits or to help their friends.

Origin

On March 15th, 2025, TikTok^[1] user @inspectorlunge_ posted the earliest known CorrupTok meme, adding a video of Nigerian President Bola Tinub walking out of a jet and the text overlay, "Me after creating generational debt for my country but securing generational wealth for myself." The post (seen below) amassed more than 59,000 plays and 11,000 likes in a day.

Spread

Going into March 2025, jokes about being a corrupted leader gained traction on TikTok, often using media related to Nigerian President Bola Tinub.

For example, on March 15th, 2025, TikTok^[2] user @diverclimber posted a video of Tinub greeting people, captioning it, "The gang thanking me after I become a politician and give them all government contracts." The video (seen below) received roughly 74,000 plays and 16,000 likes in a day.

On the same day, TikTok^[3] user @inspectorlunge_ uploaded an image of President Tinub along with the text overlay, "Me as a politician when my opposition thinks he's going to win just cause he got more 'votes.'" The post (seen below) amassed over 691,000 plays and 187,000 likes in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References