Ben Shapiro Destroys Liberals

2013catchphraseclassic

Published August 16, 2026

Ben Shapiro Destroys Liberals is a snowclone used in YouTube video titles by right-leaning channels, typically pairing a conservative pundit with capitalized verbs like DESTROYS or ANNIHILATES aimed at a liberal target. The format was widely parodied on Twitter starting in late 2017 for its sensationalist phrasing.

Overview

"Ben Shapiro Destroys Liberals" is a snowclone used in YouTube video titles, typically by conservative and libertarian channels, framing pundits like Ben Shapiro or Jordan Peterson demolishing opponents in debates or lectures3. The format leans on all-caps power verbs, DESTROYS, ANNIHILATES, SHREDS, RIPS, promising a decisive one-sided win over a liberal target3.

Online audiences began mocking the titling style for its heavy-handed sensationalism, and by late 2017 parody versions took off on Twitter1. Fake titles like "Ben Shapiro DESTROYS Freeloading Cancer Patient" pushed the formula to absurd extremes to make fun of how the real videos framed simple exchanges as intellectual knockouts1.

Origin & Background

Platform
YouTube (source titling) / Twitter (viral parody)
Date
2013

The earliest known example of the phrasing appeared on January 10th, 2013, when YouTuber Chase Donnelly uploaded a CNN debate between Ben Shapiro and Piers Morgan about gun control under the title "Piers Morgan Gets Annihilated By Ben Shapiro During Gun Debate CNN"3. The upload passed 9,000 views over the following five years3. Similar phrasing was already common on right-leaning channels posting clips of members of the Intellectual Dark Web rebutting liberal arguments3.

How It Spread

Parody of the format took off on December 31st, 2017, when Twitter user @cowabungus shared an Instagram post by @rob._.boss showing a fake YouTube title, "Ben Shapiro DESTROYS Freeloading Cancer Patient"1. The tweet pulled in more than 845 retweets and 4,000 likes within a year1.

The joke picked up steam on January 10th, 2018, when @Marxism_Wokeism tweeted a scripted exchange capped by the imagined title "Ben Shapiro DESTROYS and rips SOCIALIST student to SHREDS with LOGIC and FACTS"2. That post cleared 3,900 retweets and 14,000 likes in under a year2. On May 9th of that year, Facebook account TPUSSR posted a photoshopped image of Ben Shapiro playing Hungry Hungry Hippos, captioned "Ben Shapiro DESTROYS LIBERAL SJW CUCK KIDS at Hungry Hungry Hippos," pulling the snowclone into image macros4.

How to Use This Meme

The format typically pairs Ben Shapiro's name (or another Intellectual Dark Web figure) with a capitalized verb like DESTROYS, OWNS, ANNIHILATES, or RIPS, followed by a target group or individual2. Parodies often push the absurdity by inventing ludicrous opponents or settings, and common conventions include tacking on phrases such as "with LOGIC and FACTS" or "to SHREDS" at the end2.

Frequently Asked Questions