Breaking News Reaction

2013Image macro / exploitable templateactive

Published March 10, 2026 · Updated March 24, 2026

Also known as: Breaking News Meme · News Alert Meme

Breaking News Reaction is a meme format where real or fake "BREAKING NEWS" graphics and news broadcast layouts are overlaid on mundane, absurd, or unexpected content for comedic effect. The format plays on the dramatic presentation style of television news to create humor through contrast between the serious framing and trivial subject matter. It picked up steam across social media in the mid-2010s and draws from a long tradition of reaction-based internet humor, including viral family reaction videos like the famous "Side Eyeing Chloe" clip from 20131.

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Overview

The Breaking News Reaction format takes the visual language of cable news broadcasts and applies it to low-stakes or ridiculous situations. Creators typically grab a screenshot or photo, slap a "BREAKING NEWS" banner across it (often mimicking CNN, BBC, or Fox News layouts), and write an absurd headline in the chyron. The humor comes from the gap between the gravitas of a news alert and whatever silly content fills the screen.

A related branch of the format involves genuine reaction clips to surprising news. The tradition of filming someone's real-time reaction to an announcement became a YouTube staple in the early 2010s, with videos like the Clem family's Disneyland surprise series racking up tens of millions of views1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter, Tumblr (meme format), YouTube (reaction video tradition)
Creator
Unknown
Date
~2013-2015

The Breaking News Reaction format emerged organically across multiple platforms. Fake news screenshot generators began circulating on social media around 2013-2014, letting anyone create realistic-looking news chyrons. Twitter users quickly adopted the format for jokes, while Tumblr users turned reaction screenshots into widely shared GIFs.

The reaction-to-news video genre, which feeds into this meme, has roots in early YouTube culture. One notable example is the Clem family's "Lily's Disneyland Surprise… AGAIN!" video uploaded in 2013, where two-year-old Chloe Clem gave a now-iconic disturbed look while her older sister Lily cried tears of joy at the announcement of a Disneyland trip1. That single frame of Chloe's face became the "Side Eyeing Chloe" meme, proving how powerful a genuine reaction to news could be as meme material.

How It Spread

The Breaking News Reaction format spread through several waves. Early adoption happened on Twitter, where users created fake CNN and BBC screenshots with absurd headlines. The format was easy to make (dozens of free "breaking news generator" sites existed) and easy to share, which helped it spread fast.

On Tumblr, the reaction side of the format thrived. Side Eyeing Chloe, for instance, was remixed into GIF sets highlighting her contrasting reaction to her sister's emotional outburst, picking up 895,700 notes in less than a month1. BuzzFeed ran an article in November 2013 calling Chloe "the patron saint of Tumblr" and "the queen and goddess of the internet"1.

By 2016-2017, the Breaking News format had become a staple on Instagram meme accounts and Facebook groups. News-style templates expanded to include "LIVE" badges, scrolling tickers, and multi-panel layouts mimicking 24-hour news coverage. The format proved especially popular during election seasons and major cultural events, where the line between real breaking news and meme content blurred deliberately.

The format migrated to TikTok in the late 2010s, where creators used green screen effects to place themselves "reporting live" from absurd locations or situations. This video-first evolution gave the static image macro new life.

Platforms

TwitterTwitterReddit
View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The Breaking News Reaction format typically follows one of two approaches:

Fake News Screenshot Version:

1

Find or take a funny, mundane, or absurd image

2

Use a breaking news template generator (many free ones exist online)

3

Add a dramatic but silly headline in the chyron area

4

The humor works best when the headline treats something trivial with dead-serious urgency

5

Film or find someone's genuine reaction to surprising information

6

The best clips capture an unguarded, authentic moment of shock, confusion, or disbelief

7

Often paired with captions describing a relatable scenario that would produce that reaction

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The Breaking News Reaction format bridged internet humor and mainstream media awareness in unexpected ways. As fake news screenshots became more convincing, some actually fooled people into believing fictional stories, leading platforms to crack down on misleading content that mimicked real news layouts.

The reaction video tradition spawned real financial outcomes for some families. The Clem family's Side Eyeing Chloe, born from a genuine reaction video, led to modeling careers for both Chloe and her sister Lily in 20171. Chloe and her mother later appeared on BuzzFeed's "I Accidentally Became A Meme" series in 20191. In 2021, the original Side Eyeing Chloe photo sold as an NFT for 25 Ethereum1.

Brands and social media managers adopted the Breaking News format for marketing, using fake news graphics to announce product launches or sales with exaggerated urgency.

Fun Facts

The original Clem family Disneyland surprise video that spawned Side Eyeing Chloe was itself a follow-up to a similar video from two years earlier, which had already gone viral with over 19 million views1.

Chloe Clem was only two years old when her reaction face became a global meme in 20131.

The family visited Brazil where Chloe's face was displayed throughout the Google offices, showing how deeply the reaction image had penetrated tech culture1.

Breaking news generators became so popular that some news organizations asked social platforms to label fake screenshots to prevent misinformation.

Derivatives & Variations

Side Eyeing Chloe

— Two-year-old Chloe Clem's disturbed reaction to her sister's emotional outburst over a Disneyland surprise became one of the most widely shared reaction images on Tumblr and Twitter[1]

Chloe Queen of Everything

— A Tumblr blog dedicated to photoshopping Chloe's reaction face onto celebrities[1]

Green Screen News Reporter

— TikTok creators placing themselves into fake news broadcast scenes using the platform's green screen effect

"This Just In" Variants

— Alternate header text swapping "BREAKING NEWS" for "THIS JUST IN," "DEVELOPING STORY," or "EXCLUSIVE" for added variety

Frequently Asked Questions

References (1)

  1. 1
    Side Eyeing Chloeencyclopedia