The Fog Is Coming

About

The Fog Is Coming refers to a catchphrase and series of memes including image macros and TikTok videos that warn viewers that an ominous, assumedly dangerous fog is coming, sometimes offering a specific date of when and a location with GPS coordinates of where the fog is set to spread. The meme began as a tweet posted in November 2021 and spread across social media, particularly Instagram and TikTok, over the course of early 2022.

Origin

On November 22nd, 2021, Twitter^[1] user @Senn_Spud posted a joke about an ominous all-consuming fog, writing, "So funny when athletes sign these long contracts. Oh you’re gonna be playing for the Yankees in 2031? Buddy the fog is gonna consume us in 2027. The fog is coming. The fog is coming. The fog is coming," gaining over 22,000 likes and 2,300 retweets in four months (shown below).

Spread

The tweet was screenshotted and reposted to Instagram^[2][3][4] accounts including meaningful_incellectuals, spooky.miller and spicydeepfriedmemesv3 over the following month, gaining over 2,600, 25,000 and 61,000 likes respectively by March 2022. On January 1st, 2022, TikToker^[5] @caleb_lib posted posted a video offering 2022 predictions via on-screen text, the majority of the predictions alluding to "the fog" coming, gaining over 1.4 million views in two months (shown below).

On February 9th, TikToker^[6] @nationalism6012 posted a video about the fog, gaining over 157,000 views in a month (shown below, left). On February 11th, TikToker^[7] @trashcanpaul posted a version of the meme predicting the fog is coming on August 23rd, 2022, gaining over 30,000 views in the same rough span of time (shown below, right).

On February 13th, Instagram^[8] user trashcanpaul posted a version of the Kanye Holding Notepad meme with the phrase "the fog is coming" written on it, gaining over 30,000 likes in just under a month (shown below).

On February 14th, TikToker^[9] @sewsam posted a video about the fog, giving a location and date prediction, gaining over 70,000 views in under a month (shown below, left). On March 1st, TikToker^[10] @crackrat27 posted a video saying he bought equipment to survive the fog, gaining over 161,000 views in a week (shown below, right).

The Fog Is Coming May 15th, 2023 / 2023 Resurgence

In early 2023, memes about the fog became increasingly popular on sites including TikTok and Instagram. On January 18th, 2023, YouTuber^[11] mr giggler posted a video of "rap battle MrBeast": Skitzy_VA saying "the fog is coming," seemingly from a Cameo video, garnering over 190,000 views in a month (shown below).

On January 29th, 2023, TikToker^[12] @thefogiscoming15may2023 posted an edit using the Skitzy_VA clip, along with a clip of MidgetMafiaOG saying the line, that claims the fog is coming on May 15th, 2023, garnering over 1.1 million views in a week (shown below, left). On February 3rd, TikToker^[13] @ern..x posted a similar edit, garnering over 3.9 million views in five days (shown below, right).

Various Examples

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7063748793052843266

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7065003918924713263

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7049476410389384454

Search Interest

External References