About

"In Minecraft" refers to a catchphrase spoken as a way to qualify a statement as not relating to the real world. This is similar to saying "hypothetically" in that it removes the realm of real-world possibility from the example, while still being grounded in reality. The phrase is often said as an afterthought when someone types out a controversial or alarming message, then realizes how questionable that sounds and adds "in Minecraft" to the end. The usage of this phrase comes from a false sense of security as if saying threats or other questionable statements lose all meaning when attributed to taking place within a game. The meme is often seen as an extension of Government Agent Watching Me due to the phrasing being made in a way to suggest knowledge of being watched and trying to not alert the FBI agent. In March 2023, a New Jersey man, Richard Golden, was arrested and extradited to Florida for making an alleged death threat toward Volusia County, Florida sheriff Mike Chitwood, using the "in Minecraft" excuse in the post.

Origin

The origin of the meme is not exactly known, but it seems to have originated with posts on the /pol/ board of 4chan, probably sometime in early 2018. On June 19th, 2018, an anonymous user on /pol/^[1] replied to a thread with a comment using the phrase "in Minecraft, of course," which is the earliest known usage of the phrase (shown below).

Spread

Since its inception on 4chan, the phrase had covertly spread itself around other social media sites between 2018 and 2021. The meme itself, only being two words long and referencing one of the biggest video games of all time, means that it is very easy to signal to others while seeming innocuous. Because of this, the true spread can be hard to find due to the very real chatter of people talking about real experiences within the game Minecraft. This can be shown through the use of memes that denote how the person was innocently talking about Minecraft when questioned by the FBI about their in-game chat, an example of which was posted to Twitter^[2] by user @sardonic_greek on April 19th, 2021 (shown below).

A subreddit was created called /r/inminecraft/^[3] that expanded the meaning of the meme. In the subreddit, which has 360 subscribers after four years of activity, posts would be made that didn't only revolve around threats or other questionable topics then use the words "in Minecraft," it was instead posts that took place in Minecraft but had real world connections. The biggest example of this being the post by Redditor^[4] Malthetalthe which can be seen as a call to action against cops who shoot dogs, a common meme stereotype, which was posted on October 3rd, 2019 and received 130 upvotes and 13 comments (shown below).

Hasan Piker "America Deserved 9/11 In A Video Game"

On August 21st, 2019, a now-deleted /r/LivestreamFail^[9][10] user posted a clip from one of Hasan Piker's streams where he says that America "deserved 9/11" in relation to a video of Dan Crenshaw, then later said, "in a video game." The statement garnered massive controversy and Piker apologized for it.^[11]

2023 Arrest Of Richard Golden

On March 14th, 2023, it was reported that a user of 4chan's /pol/ board named Richard Golden was arrested in South Brunswick, New Jersey and would be extradited to Florida to be charged for making death threats in a post to /pol/, which he reportedly confirmed.^[5] The threat was against Volusia County, Florida Sheriff Mike Chitwood. Golden reportedly^[6] used the "in Minecraft" excuse in the post. The alleged threat was seemingly posted to /pol/^[7] on February 22nd, 2023, where the user wrote:

"Just shoot Chitwood in the head and he stops being a problem. They have to find a new guy to be the new problem.

But shooting Chitwood in the head solves an immediate problem permanently. Just shoot Chitwood in the head and murder him.

In Minecraft."

Later that day, Chitwood posted a photo of Golden getting arrested to Twitter,^[8] writing, "What a shame. A 4chan troll has to come out of his room," garnering over 550 likes in six days (shown below).

Later that day, the WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando YouTube page uploaded a video of Chitwood talking about the arrest at a press conference, garnering over 3,800 views in six days (shown below, left). On March 16th, the YouTube channel Law&Crime Network posted a video of the arrest taken through body cameras, garnering over 441,000 views in four days (shown below, right).

That day, Twitter^[8] user @LookAtMyMeat1 posted a screenshot from the latter video, writing, "It seems that 'in Minecraft' is now no longer a solid defense," garnering over 64,000 likes in four days. The story became a viral topic of discussion on 4chan's /pol/ board.

Related Memes

Government Agent Watching Me

Due to the nature of the meme itself, it can often be found in a combination meme with Government Agent Watching Me. This is because they follow the same core sentiment that the FBI or some other agency is watching what you are typing, and thus the need for "in Minecraft" exists.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References