# Steven Pruitt Steven Pruitt is an American Wikipedian credited as the most prolific English-language editor on the site, responsible for roughly a third of its edits. A January 2019 CBS News profile turned the soft-spoken volunteer into a viral figure, sparking 'Carefully, He's a Hero' image macros on Reddit and a Twitter backlash over a mean-spirited tweet mocking his appearance. ## Origin Pruitt has said he began editing Wikipedia in 2004 with a first entry on Peter Francisco, a Portuguese-born American who fought in the Revolutionary War[1]. On January 4, 2006, he created the long-running account Ser Amantio di Nicolao with an edit to the article about Austrian painter Michael Pacher[2]. Over the following decade he racked up more than 3 million edits and 35,000 original entries, and in 2017 Time magazine named him to its list of the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet[4]. His leap from Wikipedia power-user to internet character came on January 26, 2019, when CBS News aired a profile of him and uploaded the interview to YouTube[3]. The clip framed him as an ordinary federal records clerk quietly shaping the world's biggest encyclopedia on nights and weekends. - **Platform:** CBS News / Reddit (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2019 ## Overview Pruitt edits under the username Ser Amantio di Nicolao and by 2019 had logged more than 3 million Wikipedia edits and authored over 35,000 articles[4]. The meme side of his story leans on the mismatch between his bookish, unassuming presence in the CBS segment and the sheer scale of his volunteer output. Fans on Reddit turned him into a wholesome 'Carefully, He's a Hero' figure, treating his unpaid labor as a quiet public service worth defending. The format is mostly reverent rather than mocking. Image macros pair a screenshot of Pruitt from the CBS interview with captions praising his contribution, while the counter-current, a viral tweet ridiculing his appearance, became its own micro-story about online cruelty toward strangers[4]. ## How to Use The typical Pruitt meme pairs a still from the CBS interview with a caption in the 'Carefully, He's a Hero' template, praising his volunteer work in exaggerated terms. Posts often include his edit count, his username, or a note about how much of Wikipedia he single-handedly wrote. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Steven Pruitt? Steven Pruitt is an American Wikipedia editor known as Ser Amantio di Nicolao who by 2019 had made more than 3 million edits and written over 35,000 articles, roughly a third of all English Wikipedia edits[4]. ### Where did Steven Pruitt come from? He first edited Wikipedia in 2004 on the Peter Francisco article[1] and created his enduring account on January 4, 2006 with an edit to the Michael Pacher page[2]. ### What does Steven Pruitt mean? Online, his name became shorthand for the unpaid volunteer labor behind Wikipedia after a January 26, 2019 CBS News profile went viral on YouTube[3]. ### How do you use Steven Pruitt? The common convention is to pair a still from the CBS interview with a 'Carefully, He's a Hero' style caption praising his volunteer edits, a format popularized by the /r/dankmemes post that hit 94,000+ points in two days[4]. ### Is Steven Pruitt still popular? The 2019 viral cycle is the main peak, but Pruitt is still credited as Wikipedia's most prolific English-language editor and is still cited in coverage of the site[4]. ## References 1. [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Francisco&dir=prev&action=history]() 2. [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Pacher&oldid=33885146]() 3. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhNczOuhxeg]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/steven-pruitt]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/steven-pruitt Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library