# Milkshake Duck > Milkshake Duck is a 2016 internet slang term coined by cartoonist Ben Ward for someone who gains sudden viral affection, only to be quickly exposed as problematic. Milkshake Duck is an internet slang term for someone who briefly captures the internet's affection for something wholesome or charming, only to be swiftly exposed as having a problematic past or offensive views. Coined by Australian cartoonist Ben Ward (@pixelatedboat) in a June 2016 tweet, the term spread across social media and was named Macquarie Dictionary's Word of the Year for 2017[2]. The concept neatly packages a recurring cycle of online culture: the rapid elevation and even faster destruction of accidental internet celebrities. ## Origin On June 12, 2016, Ben Ward, an Australian cartoonist who posts absurdist humor under the handle @pixelatedboat, tweeted: "The whole internet loves Milkshake Duck, a lovely duck that drinks milkshakes! *5 seconds later* We regret to inform you the duck is racist"[5]. Ward later explained to the New York Times that the joke was inspired by the Chewbacca Mask Lady (Candace Payne), who went viral in May 2016 for laughing hysterically in a Chewbacca mask on Facebook Live, then faced a mild backlash after receiving over $400,000 in free gifts and sponsorships[1]. "I thought the tweet was a pretty good joke summing up a recent trend," Ward said. "But I didn't think, like, 'Yes! This will be a meme!'"[1] Within one year, the tweet picked up over 22,700 likes and 9,600 retweets[5]. - **Platform:** Twitter - **Creator:** Ben Ward (cartoonist, @pixelatedboat) - **Date:** 2016 ## Overview Milkshake Duck describes a specific, repeating pattern in online culture. A person (or sometimes a product or project) gains sudden positive attention on social media. The internet rallies around them. Then, sometimes within hours, someone digs up old posts, past behavior, or unsavory opinions, and the goodwill evaporates. The term works as both a noun ("He's a Milkshake Duck") and a verb ("She got Milkshake Ducked")[7]. The original tweet framed it perfectly through a fictional scenario: a duck that drinks milkshakes delights everyone on the internet, and five seconds later, "we regret to inform you the duck is racist"[1]. That structure, the joyful discovery followed by the grim correction, became shorthand for a dynamic that plays out over and over across platforms. ## How It Spread The tweet simmered for months before breaking out. On January 9, 2017, Tumblr user Pleated Jeans included Ward's tweet in a listicle called "15 Twitter Jokes Everyone Should Read," giving it a wider audience[5]. The real explosion came on June 11, 2017, at E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo). The cyberpunk game *The Last Night* debuted with stunning pixel-art visuals during Microsoft's press conference[6]. That same evening, Twitter users discovered that lead developer Tim Soret had posted tweets supportive of GamerGate in 2014[8]. The whiplash was instant. Twitter user @Xythar shared a screenshot of the reaction with the caption "This is the fastest Milkshake Duck I've ever seen take place IRL," and Giant Bomb senior editor Alex Navarro tweeted, "we are now milkshake ducking at speeds heretofore unseen by man"[5]. Ward himself chimed in, thanking *The Last Night*'s developer for celebrating the tweet's one-year anniversary "in style"[5]. An Urban Dictionary entry for the term was created the same day[12]. Oxford Dictionaries noted in a June 2017 blog post that references to Milkshake Duck had spiked sharply, and that editors were monitoring the term[1]. The New York Times ran a feature on June 27, 2017 titled "How a Joke Becomes a Meme," tracing the term's path from throwaway tweet to internet shorthand[1]. The Observer published a roundup of notable Milkshake Duck cases that July[8]. On January 15, 2018, Australia's Macquarie Dictionary announced Milkshake Duck as its Committee's Choice Word of the Year for 2017, defining it as "a person who is initially viewed positively by the media but is then discovered to have something questionable about them which causes a sharp decline in their popularity"[3]. The dictionary's committee wrote: "Milkshake duck stood out as being a much-needed term to describe something we are seeing more and more of, not just on the internet but now across all types of media"[4]. The announcement was covered by the BBC[2], The Guardian[3], Mashable[4], The AV Club[9], and others. Ward responded to the honor with a two-word tweet: "I'm so sorry"[3]. The term had previously lost out to "youthquake" for Oxford Dictionaries' 2017 Word of the Year[2]. ## How to Use Milkshake Duck is used in a few ways: **As a noun:** Call someone a Milkshake Duck when they've gone from internet darling to disgraced in record time. "That new viral chef? Total Milkshake Duck, they found his old tweets." **As a verb:** "Getting Milkshake Ducked" or "being Milkshake Duck'd" describes the process of having your wholesome internet moment destroyed by your own past[7]. **As a prediction:** When someone goes unexpectedly viral for something positive, it's common to see comments like "How long until this person gets Milkshake Ducked?" or "Waiting for the Milkshake Duck moment." The term works best when the fall from grace is fast, when someone who was unknown yesterday and beloved today is exposed by tomorrow. It typically doesn't apply to already-famous people who face slow, drawn-out scandals. The speed is the point. ## Cultural Impact Milkshake Duck crossed from internet jargon into mainstream recognition faster than most meme terminology. The New York Times profiled the term's rise in June 2017[1], and Oxford Dictionaries publicly tracked it as a term to watch[1]. Macquarie Dictionary's decision to name it 2017 Word of the Year brought extensive media coverage across the BBC, The Guardian, Mashable, and The AV Club[2][3][9]. The AV Club's coverage noted the tension in the dictionary's decision, predicting that official recognition would strip the term of its edge: "Very soon, as with all words that become common, we can expect 'milkshake duck' to be reinterpreted to the point of meaninglessness, your parents using it to describe everything from broken toasters to bad weather forecasts"[9]. The concept is closely linked to broader discussions about cancel culture and the speed of social media judgment[7]. Vox connected Milkshake Duck to the Tumblr-born phrase "your fave is problematic," but drew a distinction: the "problematic fave" is someone already famous whose flaws are gradually revealed, while the Milkshake Duck is someone catapulted to fame and destroyed in practically the same breath[7]. The Macquarie Dictionary committee noted a cultural resonance specific to Australia: "There is a hint of tall poppy syndrome in there, which we always thought was a uniquely Australian trait, but has been amplified through the internet and become universalised"[3]. ## Fun Facts - Ward said the joke was partially inspired by the Chewbacca Mask Lady, who went from charming viral hit to mild backlash after receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and sponsorships[10]. - Milkshake Duck lost to "youthquake" for Oxford Dictionaries' 2017 Word of the Year, and "kwaussie" (a hybrid of Kiwi and Aussie) was chosen as the Australian National Dictionary Centre's word that same year[2]. - When Macquarie Dictionary announced the award, Milkshake Duck beat out "framily" (a group of close non-relatives) and "endling" (the last surviving member of a species)[3]. - Some Australian news outlets questioned whether the term was actually well-known enough to be Word of the Year, but the Macquarie committee called it "an absolute winner"[2]. - Ward acknowledged the meta-irony of his creation, calling it his "sword of Damocles" since any problematic tweet of his own would make him a Milkshake Duck[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Milkshake Duck? Milkshake Duck is internet slang for a person who gains sudden positive fame online, only to be quickly exposed as having a distasteful past or offensive views. The term comes from a 2016 tweet by Australian cartoonist Ben Ward (@pixelatedboat)[1]. ### Where did Milkshake Duck come from? The term originated from a tweet posted on June 12, 2016 by Ben Ward, who writes under the handle @pixelatedboat. The tweet described a fictional duck beloved by the internet that is immediately revealed to be racist[5]. ### What does Milkshake Duck mean? It describes the cycle of someone becoming an overnight internet hero and then, usually within hours or days, being torn down when problematic elements of their past are uncovered. Macquarie Dictionary defines it as "a person who is initially viewed positively by the media but is then discovered to have something questionable about them which causes a sharp decline in their popularity"[3]. ### How do you use Milkshake Duck? You can use it as a noun ("He's a total Milkshake Duck") or as a verb ("She got Milkshake Ducked"). It's typically applied when the turnaround from beloved to reviled happens very quickly[7]. ### Is Milkshake Duck still popular? Milkshake Duck is a well-established piece of internet vocabulary. It was named Macquarie Dictionary's Word of the Year for 2017[2] and the underlying pattern it describes, viral fame followed by swift backlash, keeps producing new examples. ### Who created the Milkshake Duck meme? Ben Ward, an Australian cartoonist who tweets absurdist humor under the handle @pixelatedboat, posted the original tweet on June 12, 2016. He said the joke was partly inspired by the Chewbacca Mask Lady[1]. ### What was the first real Milkshake Duck? Ken Bone is often cited as the earliest prominent example. He became a viral star during the October 2016 presidential debate thanks to his red sweater and friendly demeanor, then fell from grace when his questionable Reddit comment history was exposed[7]. ### Why is it called Milkshake Duck? The name comes from Ward's fictional scenario of a duck that drinks milkshakes and is adored by the internet, only to be immediately outed as racist. The absurdity of the image, a milkshake-drinking duck, contrasted with the grim punchline, made the joke memorable and shareable[1]. ### What is a Reverse Milkshake Duck? A Reverse Milkshake Duck is when a viral moment starts out looking bad but turns unexpectedly positive. The term was coined in October 2018 when Navy veteran Pieter Hanson publicly corrected his mother's #HimToo tweet, winning the internet over in the process[6]. ### Did Milkshake Duck win any dictionary awards? Yes. Australia's Macquarie Dictionary named it the Word of the Year for 2017 on January 15, 2018. It had previously lost to "youthquake" for Oxford Dictionaries' 2017 Word of the Year[2][3]. ### What happened with The Last Night and Milkshake Duck? At E3 2017, the cyberpunk game *The Last Night* impressed audiences with its visuals, but within hours, developer Tim Soret was found to have posted pro-GamerGate tweets. The game was immediately labeled a Milkshake Duck, and the incident helped push the term into wider use[8]. ### How is Milkshake Duck different from cancel culture? Milkshake Duck is specifically about ordinary people or newcomers who gain sudden viral fame and are exposed almost immediately. Cancel culture is a broader concept that can involve established celebrities facing prolonged backlash. Vox noted that the Milkshake Duck speaks to "the growing polarization of publicly professed ideologies" combined with instant virality[7]. ## References 1. ['Milkshake Duck' named 2017 word of the year by Macquarie Dictionary | Mashable]() 2. [Milkshake duck: The Australian word that went 'universal']() 3. [Milkshake ​​duck announced as Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year | Language | The Guardian]() 4. [Milkshake Duck - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Milkshake Duck]() 6. [Milkshake Duck - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [Urban Dictionary: Milkshake Duck]() 8. [How a Joke Becomes a Meme: The Birth of ‘Milkshake Duck’ - The New York Times]() 9. [‘Milkshake Duck’ Meme Spotlights Viral Celebrities With Dark Pasts | Observer]() 10. [Milkshake Duck – Meaning, Origin, Usage]() 11. [Every 'Milkshake Duck' Example To Date]() 12. [“Shrimp guy” Jensen Karp, outed as an alleged abuser, is the latest viral phenomenon to get Milkshake Ducked | Vox]() 13. [Milkshake Duck - Reference.org]() 14. [What is a "Milkshake Duck"? Meaning, explanation, definition - Bedeutung Online]() 15. [The Milkshake Duck Phenomenon Explained]() 16. [Who or What, Exactly, is Milkshake Duck?]() 17. [Dictionary declares "milkshake duck" its word of the year, thus ending the term's usefulness]() 18. ['Milkshake Duck' named 2017 word of the year by Macquarie Dictionary | Mashable]() 19. [15 Twitter Jokes Everyone Should Read]() 20. ["The Last Night" (Milkshake Duck incarnate) E3 Trailer [XBO/Win10/Steam 2018] | NeoGAF]() 21. [Home - Macquarie]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/milkshake-duck Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library