The Time Travelers Interrupting Meme refers to a TikTok trend series that uses AI to reflect on past jokes or events and how people in the current era would like to stop them. The time traveler now often appears dressed in black with an oversized black hat to cover their face. The trend generally uses the text "a mysterious group of time travelers are interrupting every viral Vine" as a caption across videos.
With the rise of cheap AI software programs, internet users started editing popular videos to include new people, especially old Vine videos. One of the side effects of these edits was adding in a brand new person not there initially, and it became a joke that this new character was a time traveler sent to warn the original meme characters about something.
In June 2024, X user @TwashTheMan made a version of the What's 9 + 10? 21 Vine in which an ominous figure appears to try and stop a kid from answering the question, "What's nine plus ten?"
In the original, the kid answers "21" and it became a hit at the time. Now, the child is silenced and it's pretty creepy.
The video's popularity on X, formerly Twitter, soon led to a takeover on TikTok, where people were already experimenting with AI manipulation. Throughout June 2024, they especially took off and were not only used on Vines but other meme videos or viral videos of the 2010s. Usually, the interruption would come at the end along with ominous music.
@chokingonredpill #ai #meme #aiinterrupting #timetraveler #vine #foryoupage ♬ original sound
AI programs have flooded the Internet with possibilities, as well as misinformation and corrupted archives. AI videos and photos are also often unsettling, which TikToker @malcolmmeatball commented on in a TikTok on June 17 after seeing one too many of these new edits. In the video, he jokes about a normal Vine from 2016 being ruined by a figure moving in that very unusual and foreboding AI way.
@malcolmmeatball why he walking like that ???? #malcolmmeatball #fypツ ♬ MARKING TIME, WAITING FOR DEATH - Shiro SAGISU
But this very legitimate critique of the practice will not stop the flood of not-very-funny meme variations. What's important is that these videos are cooking our planet.
As often happens with AI, not all the edits are super clean. Sometimes a figure appears almost seamlessly, whereas in others, some strange effect happens that take the new edit to a very surreal place, like in this one with the peanut butter baby.
@horror_house.clips What happened?! #timetraveler #vine #meme #ai #aitimetravel #aigenerated ♬ MARKING TIME, WAITING FOR DEATH - Shiro SAGISU
Or this one where the "Who Are You?" kid pulls an Exorcist before getting into a car and driving away.
@rndm7778 What happend?! #timetraveler #meme #vine #aimem #ai #waitaminute #whoareyou ♬ MARKING TIME, WAITING FOR DEATH - Shiro SAGISU
Truly a tragedy to stop Jonathan from speaking about his love of turtles:
@thefigtokeditor Someone has to stop this… #aimeme #aitimetravel #timetravel #interuptedmeme #interruptedmeme #meme #fyp #dontflop ♬ MARKING TIME, WAITING FOR DEATH - Shiro SAGISU
But they didn't get to the "Always Lying" guy in time.
@chokingonredpill #ai #meme #foryoupage #aiinterrupting #vine #timetraveler ♬ original sound - timthegoatfr
And Charlie still got his bite in.
@unclemonkey61 Not again????♂️ #fyp ♬ MARKING TIME, WAITING FOR DEATH - Shiro SAGISU
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post Disturbing ‘Time Travelers Interrupting’ memes are freaking TikTok out appeared first on The Daily Dot.
