Italian brainrot
Italian brainrot is a series of Internet memes that emerged in early 2025 characterized by surrealist and absurd images of AI-generated creatures who are given pseudo-Italian names. The phenomenon quickly spread across social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, going viral owing to its combination of sloppy aesthetics, synthesized "Italian" voiceovers, grotesque or humorous visuals, abstractism, and nonsensical narrative.
Description
Italian brainrot is characterized by absurd images or videos created by generative artificial intelligence. It typically features hybrids of animals with everyday objects, food, and weapons. They are given Italianized names or use stereotypical cultural markers and are accompanied by AI-generated audio of an Italian man's narration, which is often nonsensical. The names of these characters often have Italian suffixes, such as or. These characters combine elements of surrealism, visual anxiety and internet irony, reflecting the post-ironic humor of Generation Z.The term brain rot was Oxford Word of the Year in 2024, and refers to the deteriorating effect on one's mental state when overconsuming "trivial or unchallenging content" online. It can also refer to the content itself. Online users often use this label to acknowledge the ridiculousness of Italian brainrot, while recognising the growing amount of AI slop present online. Fans have created various stories featuring characters from Italian brainrot, forming a type of Internet folklore with overly dramatic storylines and voices.
Origin
In October 2023, Internet users created various Italian memes about American actor and wrestler Dwayne Johnson in which he rhymes about absurd topics. In one video, Johnson would use the nonsense word "Tralalero tralala", and would later rhyme it with "smerdo pure nell'aldilà". The phrase would later be used to create the basis of Italian brainrot.Although the exact origin of Italian brainrot is hard to pinpoint, the character Tralalero Tralala is widely considered to be the first example of the trend. The creation of the character is often attributed to the TikTok user @eZburger401, who reportedly posted a video featuring the character in January 2025. The user was banned after posting, potentially due to its accompanying audio containing profanity. Later, user @elchino1246 posted a video using Tralalero Tralala's audio, accompanied with an image of a shark mixed with a pigeon. Lastly, on 13 January 2025, user @amoamimandy.1a created a now deleted post using the audio, instead using an AI-generated image of a shark with shoes. This video gained 7 million views.
Reception
The likenesses of some Italian brainrot characters have been used to sell toys and non-fungible tokens, as well as being the centerpiece of the popular Roblox game Steal a Brainrot. Italian brainrot also inspired a variety of volatile meme coins, such as "Italianrot", which was launched in March 2025. Italian brainrot gained notoriety in many regions such as the United States, South Korea, and Germany. Various brands have replicated the memes for use in marketing content on social media. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán released a TikTok video where a 3D model of Tung Tung Tung Sahur is seen dancing in a government meeting. In Italy, several newsstands began selling "Skifidol Italian Brainrot Trading Card Games", inspired by the memes and commercialized for a younger audience. The release led to a noticeable rise in Gen Alpha consumers, with L'Espresso comparing the surge to the popularity of Garbage Pail Kids cards during their Italian debut. In May 2025, Indonesian production house expressed interest in making a film based on the character of Tung Tung Tung Sahur.Polish radio channel Polskie Radio noted that the meme is popular among Generation Alpha "because it's stupid, funny, and veeeery addictive". Polskie Radio highlighted how the meme has been adapted into other media, such as Roblox games, music remixes, and quizzes. Radio France Internationale called the usage of pseudo-Italian names amongst characters "a bit problematic". Daily German newspaper Die Tageszeitung called Italian brainrot a "creative approach to technology, language, and pop culture". China's Legal Daily compared its popularity among young children in the country to Elsagate. In 2025, Panini released an Italian brainrot sticker album.