Copypasta

A copypasta is a block of text that is copied and pasted across the Internet by individuals through online forums and social networking websites. Copypastas are said to be similar to spam[1] as they are often used to annoy other users and disrupt online discourse.

History

The word "copypasta" was first used on Usenet groups in 2006.[2]

Etymology

The term "copypasta" is derived from the computer term "copy/paste", and can be traced back to an anonymous 4chan thread from 2006.[1][3]

Notable examples

The Navy Seal copypasta is a lengthy, comically written, aggressive attack paragraph against a "kiddo", written in the voice of the stereotypical "tough guy", listing absurd accomplishments such as having "over 300 confirmed kills" and being "trained in gorilla [sic] warfare". This copypasta is often reposted as a humorous overreaction to an insult and is thought to have originated in a post on a 4chan message board from 11 November 2010.[4]

This copypasta is infamously used in the manifesto of the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings.[5]

Bee Movie
Main article: Bee Movie § Cultural influence

The Bee Movie copypasta dates back to 2013 where users would post the entire script of the Bee Movie onto websites such as Reddit and Tumblr.[6] This was popularised around the time when edits of the film were first being posted and popularized on YouTube in late 2016.[7]

See also
  • Creepypasta, brief, user-generated, paranormal stories intended to scare readers
  • Faxlore, similar content circulated by fax machine
  • Know Your Meme, a website and video series which researches and documents the history of Copypastas and similar content
  • Running gag, a recurring joke
  • Snowclone, a cliché and phrasal template that can be used and recognized in multiple variants
  • Shitposting, the practice of posting intentionally low-quality or provocative content to troll or solicit reactions from others

References
  1. "What is Copypasta? - Definition from Techopedia". Techopedia.com. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  2. "Words We're Watching: 'Copypasta'". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  3. Jaquez, Sophia (12 December 2018). "My Favorite CopyPastas". The County Current. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  4. "What Does Navy Seal copypasta Mean?". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018.
  5. "The Honk Pill Troll Killer: Brenton Tarrant's Motives May Never be Known – if We're Not Careful". 28 March 2019.
  6. Bergado, Gabe. "How Barry B. Benson Became an Internet A-Lister". Inverse. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  7. "The Best Prank on Facebook Right Now Involves the Entire Transcript of Bee Movie". Intelligencer. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
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