In Internet culture, a Milkshake Duck is a person who gains popularity on social media for some positive trait but is later discovered to have a distasteful history or to engage in offensive behavior.
*5 seconds later* We regret to inform you the duck is racist The phrase is derived from a Twitter post made on 12 June 2016 by Ben Ward, an Australian cartoonist using the online handle "pixelatedboat".
[9] The demonstration of the independently developed video game The Last Night was a highlight of Microsoft's press conference during the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017 due to its stylish cyberpunk visuals.
Then one of its creators, Tim Soret, was found to have spoken in support of the Gamergate harassment campaign in 2014, which led to criticism of his views a day later and tarnished the game's image.
[12] Controversy ensued when it was revealed that in a 2015 tweet she had used the homophobic slur "faggot" to describe hip-hop artists Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt, members of the musical collective Odd Future.
"[13] Her response met further backlash, including a critical tweet by Will and Grace actress Debra Messing,[14] expressing disappointment in Doja for defending past ignorance and imploring her to use her fame and platform for good.
[5][6] Shortly after his webcomic Strange Planet began to achieve viral success in early 2019, US cartoonist Nathan W. Pyle was described as an example of the milkshake duck phenomenon when a 2017 tweet of his was revealed that expressed anti-abortion views.
[23] A mother with the Twitter username BlueStarNavyMom3 tweeted a picture of her son, associating him with the #HimToo hashtag, suggesting he was afraid to go on solo dates due to false sexual accusations.
"[27] Vox's Aja Romano suggested the phenomenon "might actually be whatever the opposite of a Milkshake Duck is—when a viral moment starts out seeming awful but then becomes unexpectedly good.
[29] Ward was imitating how social media would find dark secrets of public faces who were seemingly decent people which keys the idea that there is something nice about them, but the image is dirtied and they now are seen as problematic.