Dat Boi

According to Animation Factory employee Ryan Hagen, the frog GIF used in the meme was created by designer Josh Doohen.[4]

The meme's name originates from an edited news screenshot[5] and the line of text often used in association with the image ("here come dat boi! o shit waddup!") was taken from a different meme featuring a computer-animated Pac-Man character from a video called "Here Comes Pacman".[6][5] The frog image and its caption were first put together on Facebook, according to Vox.[7] The Verge writer Chris Plante referred to the caption in a June article, stating that the Dat Boi image itself was "not enough" and should be paired with the caption.[8]

In May 2016, the "here come dat boi!" caption came under criticism after various Facebook users claimed to find it an "appropriation of African-American Vernacular English".[9][10] As a result, certain Facebook groups discouraged use of the meme.[11]

Dat Boi was featured in The Guardian's "Month in Memes" article for June 2016.[12] Matt Furie, creator of Pepe the Frog, explained in a June 2016 interview with Comic Book Resources that he was "devastated" to find out that Dat Boi had "begun to overshadow Internet Pepe".[13]

• Meme-themed commercials and games based on the 2016 edition of Nickelodeon's Kids Pick the President featured both of the phrases associated with Dat Boi.[14]
• In May 2016, MTV News posted an image of Dat Boi, alongside other social media trends, onto its Instagram account.[15]
• Nintendo tweeted an image of its Slippy Toad character next to the Dat Boi frog on May 13, 2016.[16]
• The Twitter account for the restaurant chain Denny's tweeted an image of Dat Boi, calling the frog "Dat Busboi".[17][18]
• The Twitter account for Roblox, a computer game, retweeted a GIF featuring four avatars created in Dat Boi's likeness.[19]
• Kenyatta Cheese, co-founder of Know Your Meme, described Dat Boi as "a piece of culture" to the editors of Vice.[20]
• In an interview with PopSugar about viral trends, model Josh Ostrovsky mentioned the meme and admitted, "obviously I love Dat Boi".[21]
• The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union posted a "Dat Boi" meme to comment on the 2016 Australian federal election.[22]
• Also during the 2016 federal election in Australia, SBS Comedy published a satirical article claiming that the "Dat Boi" frog had become the most popular candidate for Prime Minister of Australia among youth voters.[23]

• Toad worship, Chinese internet subculture