# Obunga > Obunga is a 2013 cursed photoshop warping Barack Obama into a roach-like creature from the manga Terra Formars, popularized by PewDiePie in 2018. Obunga is a photoshopped "cursed image" of former U.S. President Barack Obama, warped to resemble the roach-like creatures from the Japanese manga *Terra Formars*. The image first surfaced on 4chan's /tv/ board in mid-2013, spent years in relative obscurity, then exploded across Instagram, YouTube, and Reddit in June 2018 after PewDiePie featured it in a video. A second wave of popularity hit in summer 2022 when Obunga became a popular Nextbot chase mod in Garry's Mod. ## Origin The earliest known instance of the Obunga photoshop was posted to 4chan's /tv/ (television and film) board on July 24, 2013[4]. The original thread context and the identity of whoever created the edit are both unknown. No one has claimed authorship, and the anonymous posting culture of 4chan means tracking it down is likely impossible[2]. The image sat relatively dormant for nearly three years after that initial post. On March 29, 2016, the photoshopped face reappeared on 4chan's /v/ (video games) board, this time uploaded under the filename "Juhrack Johbama.jpg"[1]. This crossover from /tv/ to /v/ marked the beginning of Obunga's slow migration across platforms, though it would take another two years before the meme truly broke out. - **Platform:** 4chan (/tv/ board) - **Creator:** Unknown (anonymous 4chan user) - **Date:** 2013 ## Overview Obunga is a heavily distorted edit of Barack Obama's official presidential portrait, manipulated so his face takes on the grotesque, bug-eyed appearance of the humanoid cockroach antagonists from Yuu Sasuga's manga *Terra Formars*[1]. The result is an unsettling, almost alien-looking face that sits squarely in cursed image territory. The image is frequently paired with audio from the horror game *Five Nights at Freddy's*, turning it into a screamer-style video format[2]. Part of what made Obunga stick was its sheer visual discomfort. It doesn't look like a typical political caricature or joke edit. It looks wrong in a way that's hard to shake, which gave it staying power in cursed image threads and horror meme compilations. ## How It Spread The YouTube era of Obunga kicked off on February 14, 2018, when a user named Homosneksual uploaded a short clip titled "Obunga.mov" featuring the image set to the "new round" sound effect from *Call of Duty: World at War*[4]. The marriage of creepy image and horror audio was a natural fit, and on June 11, 2018, YouTuber Maguku uploaded what became the defining version: Obunga paired with the iconic *Five Nights at Freddy's* music[1]. June 2018 was the month Obunga went everywhere. Multiple Instagram accounts started posting Obunga screamer videos, building an audience of viewers who loved being jump-scared. On June 15, Instagram user @bepis.man posted a *FNAF*-scored Obunga clip that pulled in over 31,000 views and 3,200 likes[4]. Six days later, @bepis.man followed up with another post that hit 44,000 views and nearly 5,000 likes[1]. The real tipping point came on June 27, 2018, when PewDiePie uploaded a video titled "OBUNGA ELAS THICC GIRL." The video pulled 2.7 million views and 35,200 comments within its first 24 hours[2]. As the most subscribed individual creator on YouTube at the time, PewDiePie's coverage pushed Obunga into mainstream meme awareness. As one analysis noted, PewDiePie's "meme review" videos tend to mark both the peak and the beginning of the end for a meme's lifecycle[2]. The very next day, June 28, Reddit user CharlotteNetherlands posted a captioned Obunga variation to r/okbuddyretard, where it earned over 1,000 upvotes with a 91% approval rate and 60 comments in 15 hours[1]. Around the same time, user TheMemeKid submitted an edit that blended Obunga with Sans from *Undertale* to r/dankmemes[4]. ## How to Use Obunga typically appears in two main formats. The first is the **screamer video**: a seemingly normal or calm video that suddenly cuts to the Obunga face, often accompanied by *Five Nights at Freddy's* audio or similar horror sound effects. The key is the bait-and-switch. Viewers don't expect it, and the jarring face gets the reaction. The second format is the **captioned image**, where the distorted Obama face is placed in reaction image contexts, usually implying something unsettling, threatening, or absurd. Common setups include "Obunga is watching you" or placing the face in unexpected settings (behind a door, in a dark hallway, outside a window). In the Garry's Mod Nextbot context, Obunga is used as a chase NPC. Players download the mod from Steam Workshop and play chase game modes where the Obunga image sprints at them at high speed while they try to escape. ## Cultural Impact PewDiePie's June 2018 video was the single biggest amplifier for Obunga, pushing it from a niche 4chan relic into a meme recognized across YouTube, Instagram, and Reddit within days[2]. The meme's second wave in 2022, driven by Garry's Mod and TikTok content, showed that horror-style chase game content could revive even dormant memes. The Roblox removal in September 2022 was notable as one of the higher-profile instances of a major platform removing meme content specifically for discrimination concerns[1]. The decision drew attention to the tension between memes that have "outgrown" their original context and the original context itself. Urban Dictionary entries for Obunga range from straightforward definitions to semi-ironic deification, with users calling it "God himself making an appearance back on earth"[6]. ## Fun Facts - The filename "Juhrack Johbama.jpg" from the 2016 /v/ repost is a phonetic mangling of "Barack Obama" and has been preserved in 4chan archives[4]. - Obunga's 2022 Garry's Mod revival came from a Steam Workshop mod that had been sitting dormant since July 2018, uploaded during the meme's original peak[5]. - PewDiePie's Obunga video hit 2.7 million views and 35,200 comments in a single day, making it one of the faster-spreading meme review moments on his channel[2]. - The meme is one of a handful to be explicitly banned from Roblox under "discriminatory content" moderation rules[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Obunga? Obunga is a cursed image made by digitally distorting Barack Obama's official presidential portrait to resemble the cockroach-like humanoids from the manga *Terra Formars*[2]. ### Where did Obunga come from? The earliest archived appearance was on 4chan's /tv/ board on July 24, 2013, posted by an anonymous user whose identity is unknown[4]. ### What does Obunga mean? The name is a play on "Obama" with no deeper meaning. The image functions as a horror or shock meme rather than a political statement[6]. ### How do you use Obunga? The most common uses are screamer videos (a bait-and-switch with the Obunga face and horror audio) and captioned reaction images implying something creepy or threatening[1]. ### Is Obunga still popular? Obunga saw a major revival in summer 2022 through Garry's Mod Nextbot videos on YouTube and TikTok, though its peak was in June 2018 after PewDiePie's coverage[2]. ### Why was Obunga removed from Roblox? Roblox moderation removed all Obunga content on September 19, 2022, classifying it as "discriminatory content" due to concerns about the racial implications of a distorted image of the first Black president[1]. ### Who made the original Obunga image? The creator is unknown. The image was posted anonymously on 4chan, and no one has claimed credit for the original photoshop[4]. ### What manga is Obunga based on? The distortion is designed to mimic the appearance of the humanoid cockroach antagonists from *Terra Formars*, a manga by Yuu Sasuga and Kenichi Tachibana[2]. ### When did PewDiePie cover Obunga? PewDiePie uploaded his Obunga video on June 27, 2018, and it reached 2.7 million views within 24 hours[1]. ### What is the Obunga Nextbot? It's a Garry's Mod mod submitted to Steam Workshop on July 2, 2018, by user The Globfather, which turns Obunga into a chase NPC in the Nextbot game mode[5]. ## References 1. [Obunga – Meaning, Origin, Usage]() 2. [Obunga Meme: A Slightly Cursed, Very Controversial Mod Image]() 3. [/tv/ - Television & Film » Thread #35325387]() 4. [Obunga - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Obunga]() 6. [Obunga - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [Steam Workshop::Obunga NPC [Nextbot]]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/obunga Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library