About

TMFINR is an acronym for "That Motherfucker Is Not Real," a memorable line and slang from the viral public freakout video in which a woman claimed a passenger on her flight was not real and wanted to get off the plane. As the woman was celebrated by some conspiracy theorists on Twitter, "TMFINR" became an acronym used in conspiratorial memes and claims that celebrities and politicians were "not real," referencing reptilian and body double conspiracies, as well as being used ironically in memes or troll posts.

Origin

On July 3rd, 2023, TikToker @knuckelslawncare posted a video of a visibly frightened female passenger on an American Airlines flight saying that she wanted to get off the flight because she saw a person on the plane who she believed wasn't real. The video gained over 14 million views and 1.2 million likes in three days on the platform (shown below). Reports suggest the video was originally posted by user @texasarkansan, though a link to that video has since been deleted.

The woman was then referenced by numerous accounts in memes and other posts online, such as Twitter user @DrFrensor, who for days afterward used "this motherfucker is not real" to joke about figures including Joe Biden ^[1] and Lori Lightfoot, among others.^[2]

On July 9th, 2023, @DrFrensor^[3] used the acronym "TMFINR" for the first time to refer to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, though the post only gained six retweets and 50 likes in two days (shown below).

Spread

The spread of the acronym was due in large part to further posts from Twitter users such as @DrFrensor and @AlphaFox78. On July 10th, 2023, @AlphaFox78^[4] tweeted a manga-style redrawn image of the plane woman with the phrase "TMFINR" on her shirt, gaining over 1,150 retweets and 15,000 likes in less than 24 hours (shown below). The piece without the acronym was originally created by user @ateenyalien.^[5]

The image became a prevalent figure in "TMFINR" memes over the following days. For example, on July 11th, Twitter user @TheOfficial1984^[6] used it in an image about denying 9/11 (shown below, left). The same day, user @Minnows_revenge^[7] posted a photoshopped Magic The Gathering card using the image, gaining nine retweets and over 40 likes in a matter of hours (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References