Caught in 4K

About

Caught in 4K is a slang expression meaning that a person who committed an an act that is illegal or frowned-upon got caught on social media, with screenshots containing the evidence being available. The "caught in 4k" posts usually include screenshots of the person's deleted posts and are often accompanied by images of people filming with cameras or logos of high-definition screen resolutions (Ultra HD, 4k, 8k, etc.), meaning that the evidence is clear beyond any doubt.

Origin

On August 7th, 2019, YouTube^[1] channel RDCworld1 posted a comedy sketch in which a lawyer talks to his client, a rapper who was caught camera committing murder and other crimes. In one part of the video, the lawyer wonders how the rapper was caught on camera, saying that they the footage of him committing crimes is in 4K (3840 × 2160 Ultra HD) resolution. The video accumulated over 4.2 million views on YouTube and over 1.8 million views on Twitter^[2] in two years.

They got your ass on camera! This is the clearest video I've ever seen! This the most HD shit ever! This is 4K! How did they get you in 4K?

Spread

The expression "caught in 4K" in it's slang sense did not see spread until August 2020. On August 24th, 2020, Twitter^[3] user @zimsimmaa used a short clip from RDCworld1's video to comment on a social media post in which Jeffree Star's rumored boyfriend was identified by his arm tattoo.^[4][5] The response went viral, gaining over 475,000 views, 780 retweets and 6,900 likes in five months (shown below). A same-day tweet^[6] by user @c_ewenike that reused the clip received additional 260 retweets and 3,600 likes.

The slang expression saw limited use on Twitter until November 2020. For example, on September 11th, 2020, Twitter^[7] user @Tmulla0 made a post using the expression that gained over 90 retweets and 2,000 likes (shown below, left). On October 16th, 2020, Twitter^[8] user @whatchusaiddd made a post that gained over over 700 retweets and 1,400 likes (shown below, right).

On November 12th, 2020, Twitter^[9] user @taegiwvrld made a "caught in 4k" using a viral clip of the K-pop band BTS, with the tweet gaining over 1,100 retweets and 10,000 likes (shown below, left). In late November 2020, a number of notable posts using the slang expression were made by Twitter^[10] users (example shown below, right), including Minecraft YouTuber and streamer jschlatt.^[11]

The slang expression achieved viral status in late December 2020, becoming a popular way to comment on screenshots of social media posts that revealed a person committing an illegal or frowned-upon act. Such posts have often been accompanied either by logos of high-definition screen resolutions (Ultra HD, 4k, 8k, etc.) or images of various characters holding cameras.

On January 6th, 2020, following the storming of the United States Capitol, multiple users replied to a November 3rd, 2020, tweet^[12] by Fox Nation Host Tomi Lahren saying "If @realDonaldTrump were to lose (he won’t) his supporters will go to work tomorrow just as we do everyday. When Biden loses, his “supporters” will likely loot and riot. Tells you everything you need to know!" with multiple Caught in 4K posts,^[13][14] assisting further spread of the meme.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References