In Internet culture, a Milkshake Duck is a person who gains popularity on social media for some positive or charming trait but is later revealed to have a distasteful history or to engage in offensive behavior. The term has been connected to cancel culture, a perceived trend of call-out culture on social media, sometimes resulting in celebrities being ostracized and careers abruptly derailed by publicized misconduct.
The phrase is derived from a Twitter post made on 12 June 2016 by Ben Ward, an Australian cartoonist using the online handle "pixelatedboat". His Twitter joke describes a fictional Internet viral phenomenon of a "lovely duck that drinks milkshakes" which is then immediately discovered to be racist. Ward stated the joke was partially influenced by the Chewbacca Mask Lady.
Notable instances
The phenomenon appeared prior to June 2016, in particular with Ken Bone during the 2016 United States Presidential debate, who was initially given positive exposure, until a questionable Reddit history was revealed after his appearances.The demonstration of the independently developed video game The Last...
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