It may refer to those who lack introspection or intrapersonal communication, or whose identity is deemed entirely determined by their surroundings and the information they consume, with no conscious processing or discernment being done by the person themselves.

[2][11] In October 2018 the meme was covered by numerous news outlets, including The Verge,[1] the BBC,[12] and The New York Times, who called it a popular insult among "the pro-Trump internet" as well as a "collective mascot for the far-right commenters".

", detailing the behaviour of individuals acting similarly to non-player characters in video games by repeatedly using phrases such as "JUST BE YOURSELF",[13] and ended the post with the following description of people the NPC meme intends to depict.

The winning entry, by a Twitter user named "Carpe Donktum", was later retweeted by then-U.S. President Donald Trump in February 2019 before it was removed for copyright infringement.

[11][17] The re-election campaign for then-Iowa Representative Steve King also tweeted an NPC meme around the same time, aimed at the sitting Democratic members of Congress.

[19] In appearance, the NPC character is grey in colour, and usually short in stature[20] simple in its design,[5] with an expressionless face,[3][21] a triangular nose[2] and a blank stare.

[1] In October 2018, users of r/The_Donald, a large subreddit that supported United States President Donald Trump,[24] coordinated in creating accounts presented as NPCs on the microblogging and social networking service Twitter.

[2] According to one or more anonymous sources quoted by The Week and The New York Times, the users were banned for violating a term of use by Twitter against "intentionally misleading election-related content", ahead of the United States 2018 midterm election.

[2][5] The claim that NPC memes were used to spread misinformation about the 2018 United States midterm election was also reported by other news agencies, including The Verge,[1] BBC[12] and The Independent.

[16] On January 13, 2019, the conservative street artist group The Faction modified a billboard featuring American comedian Bill Maher in West Hollywood using the NPC meme.

According to The Daily Dot, the modification of the billboard featuring Oliver, also credited to The Faction, was an attempt to counteract the media's supposed "Trump derangement syndrome".