# Google First Search Award In September 2022, Instagram and TikTok creator legbootlegit posted staged videos of himself unboxing glass trophies supposedly handed out by Google for being the first person to search a specific phrase. The bit went viral enough that by January 2023, a Google communications manager had to officially tell Newsweek the awards did not exist. ## Origin On September 9th, 2022, Instagram user legbootlegit, an account known for mocked-up fake products, posted a carousel of eight photos showing crystal awards engraved with oddball pigeon-related search phrases[1]. The same day, legbootlegit uploaded a TikTok of himself unboxing the first trophy, which pulled roughly 3 million views over the next four months[4]. A second unboxing TikTok, posted on September 10th, 2022, picked up similar numbers[5]. The bit was reignited on January 19th, 2023, when legbootlegit answered a commenter who asked whether Google notifies you if you search something first. In the response video, a fake prompt appears under the search bar promising a prize, and the clip collected over 2.6 million views in a week[6]. - **Platform:** Instagram / TikTok (viral spread) - **Creator:** legbootlegit - **Date:** 2022 ## Overview Each supposed award is a crystal trophy etched with an oddly specific phrase about kidnapping, caffeinating or feeding pigeons, styled with Google brand colors to look like something a corporate PR team would mail out[1]. The joke works because the phrases are so niche, like a search for how to stop excessive behavior in caffeinated pigeons, that it feels plausible nobody else would have typed them before[2]. The format follows two beats. First, legbootlegit shows a fake Google results page topped with a banner reading "Congratulations! You were the first to search for this phrase," then the video skips ahead by "several months" to an unboxing of the glass trophy[2]. Follow-up TikToks from other users copy the premise by typing nonsense queries into Google in hopes of triggering the imaginary notice[3]. ## How It Spread Confusion set in almost immediately. On September 9th, 2022, a user named Kanak Bodkhe went to the official Google Support forum to ask whether the awards were legitimate, and a day later one of the trophy photos was reposted to 9GAG[1]. The January 2023 follow-up video is what tipped the hoax into mainstream territory, with TikTokers filming their own attempts at bagging an award. On January 21st, 2023, TikToker @connorhessee posted a video trying to score the trophy that pulled over 8.5 million views in five days[7]. @nathantriska posted a similar attempt on January 22nd, 2023, which cleared 4.5 million views in four days[8]. Searches like "google award for first person to search" spiked alongside the clips[2]. On January 25th, 2023, Newsweek ran a fact-check with a statement from Colette Garcia, a communications manager for Search at Google, who said the award "does not currently exist" and noted that 15 percent of daily searches are new[2]. Dexerto reported the debunk the same day[3]. ## How to Use The template typically pairs a deliberately absurd Google query (the stranger and more unlikely the phrase, the better) with footage of a fake confirmation banner on the results page, followed later by an unboxing shot of a Google-branded glass trophy[1]. Imitators often skip the trophy and film only the search attempt, treating it as a challenge to find a phrase no human has ever typed. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Google First Search Award? It is a fake trophy hoax started by TikTok and Instagram creator legbootlegit, who filmed himself unboxing crystal awards supposedly sent by Google for being the first person to search a specific phrase[1]. ### Where did Google First Search Award come from? legbootlegit posted the original photo carousel and first unboxing TikTok on September 9th, 2022, as part of a running bit about mocked-up fake products[4]. ### What does Google First Search Award mean? It plays on the idea that search engines might reward unique queries, poking fun at people chasing clout for being 'first' at something trivial[2]. ### How do you use Google First Search Award? Imitators typically film themselves typing an absurd phrase into Google in hopes of triggering a (nonexistent) first-search notification, as @connorhessee and @nathantriska did in January 2023[7][8]. ### Is Google First Search Award still popular? Interest spiked in January 2023 after the follow-up video and faded once Google's communications manager Colette Garcia confirmed to Newsweek that no such award exists[2][3]. ## References 1. [https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-award-being-first-google-something-1776546]() 2. [https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/google-officially-debunks-viral-first-search-award-tiktok-claim-2043457/]() 3. [https://www.instagram.com/p/CiS1YkRufYy/?hl=en]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/google-first-search-award]() 5. [https://www.tiktok.com/@legbootlegit/video/7141423354858327338]() 6. [https://www.tiktok.com/@legbootlegit/video/7141773447159434542]() 7. [https://www.tiktok.com/@legbootlegit/video/7190155231253056811]() 8. [https://www.tiktok.com/@connorhessee/video/7190863129893522731]() 9. [https://www.tiktok.com/@nathantriska/video/7191178354521804074]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/google-first-search-award Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library