Internet meme · Classic

Bert is evil

A satirical meme built around Bert from Sesame Street, portraying Bert as the villain in manipulated images and claims. It emerged as a parody website and spread through references in politics and pop culture.

First seen
Last seen
Uses cited
3
Revision
2

Where it started

Bert is Evil is the name of a parody website, founded by Dino Ignacio on March 30, 1997, which featured Bert, a character on the American children's television program Sesame Street. In 1998, Dino Ignacio, Wout Reinders and Jasper Hulshoff Pol accepted the Webby Award and the People's Voice Award for Best Weird Website at the Palace of Fine Arts auditorium in San Francisco. The website featured manipulated images of the character consorting with notoriously nefarious figures, such as Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong-il, Robert Mugabe, and Osama bin Laden, as well as being present at events, such as the JFK assassination, and Oklahoma City bombing, humorously offered as "proof" that Bert was no mere innocent children's television character. The "Evil Bert" phenomenon was picked up by other humorists, who created their own images, linking Bert to current and historical atrocities. In the summer of 1998, due to the website's immense cult popularity, it became too expensive for Ignacio to continue running. Instead of shutting the site down, he offered to allow anyone who was willing to mirror his original website the opportunity to host it. As a result, dozens of mirrors appeared, increasing the website's popularity and visibility.

The use timeline

  1. A satirical website stated that Bert of Sesame Street is the root of many evils. A juxtaposition of Bert and Osama bin Laden subsequently appeared in a real poster in a Bangladesh protest.

  2. Wikidata Q827513: Bert is Evil — website. First recorded: 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z.

Examples

No example is attached yet.

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