Italian brainrot is a series of internet memes that emerged in early 2025 characterized by AI-generated absurd and surrealist images of creatures who are mostly given Italian-inspired names. The phenomenon quickly spread across social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, going viral owing to a combination of sloppy aesthetics, synthesized Italian voiceovers, grotesque or humorous visuals, abstract nature, and nonsensical narrative.
Origin
In October 2023, Internet users created various memes featuring American actor and wrestler Dwayne Johnson in which he is depicted as rhyming about absurd topics. In one video, he uses the nonsense phrase "Tralalero tralala", and later rhymes it with "smerdo pure nell'aldilà" ("I shit even in the afterlife"). The phrase was later used as the basis for Italian brainrot.
Although the exact origin of Italian brainrot is unclear, the character Tralalero Tralala is widely considered to be the first example of the trend. The creation of the character is often attributed to the TikTok user @eZburger401, who reportedly posted a video featuring the character in January 2025. The user was banned after posting, potentially due to its accompanying audio containing profanity. Later, another user @elchino1246 posted a video using Tralalero Tralala's audio, accompanied by an image of a shark mixed with a pigeon. On 13 January 2025, another user @amoamimandy.1a created a now-deleted post using the audio, featuring an AI-generated image of a shark wearing shoes. This video gained 7 million views.
Description
Italian brainrot is characterized by absurd images or videos created using generative artificial intelligence. It typically features hybrid figures combining animals with everyday objects, foods, and weapons. They are given Italianized names or incorporate stereotypical Italian cultural markers and are accompanied by AI-generated audio narration in Italian, which is often nonsensical. The names of these characters often have Italian suffixes, such as -ini or -ello.
The term brain rot was named Oxford Word of the Year in 2024, and refers to the deteriorating effect on one's mental state when overconsuming "trivial or unchallenging content" online. The term can also refer to the content itself. Online users often use this label to acknowledge the ridiculousness of Italian brainrot, while recognising the growing amount of AI slop present online. Fans have created various stories featuring characters from Italian brainrot, which has been described as a form of internet folklore with overly dramatic vocal delivery and increasingly exaggerated versions.
Characters
Italian brainrot features various AI-generated characters (referred as just "animals"). Several characters are hybrids, often combining animals with everyday objects and various fruits.
Reception
Italian brainrot gained notoriety in many regions such as the United States, South Korea, and Germany. Various brands have replicated the memes for use in marketing content on social media. Polish radio channel Polskie Radio noted that the meme is popular among Generation Alpha "because it's stupid, funny, and veeeery addictive". Polskie Radio highlighted how the meme has been adapted into other media, such as Roblox games, music remixes, and quizzes. Radio France Internationale called the usage of pseudo-Italian names amongst characters "a bit problematic". Daily German newspaper Die Tageszeitung called Italian brainrot a "creative approach to technology, language, and pop culture". China's Legal Daily compared its popularity among young children in the country to Elsagate.
The likenesses of some Italian brainrot characters have been used to sell toys and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), as well as being the centerpiece of the popular Roblox game Steal a Brainrot. Italian brainrot also inspired a variety of volatile meme coins, such as "Italianrot", which was launched in March 2025. In Italy, several newsstands began selling "Skifidol Italian Brainrot Trading Card Games", inspired by the memes and commercialized for a younger audience. The release led to a noticeable rise in Generation Alpha consumers, with L'Espresso comparing the surge to the popularity of Garbage Pail Kids cards during their Italian debut. In 2025, Panini released an Italian brainrot sticker album.
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán released a TikTok video where a 3D model of Tung Tung Tung Sahur is seen dancing in a government meeting.
Tung Tung Tung Sahur and Ballerina Cappuccina skins were added to Fortnite Battle Royale in April 2026. Prior to release, the skins faced criticism for the inclusion of characters based on AI-generated media, with Ballerina Cappuccina becoming the lowest-rated skin in the game.
Controversial audio
Some Muslim TikTok users have spoken against the Italian brainrot trend, as the original audio accompanying Tralalero Tralala includes blasphemy against God. Some have pointed out, however, that blasphemy is often used casually as a filler word in Italian, and there was no anti-religious and Islamophobic intent. Additionally, Bombardiro Crocodilo has been criticized for making light of alleged war crimes in the Gaza war, since some videos using his Italian narration describe the character as a creature who performs bombing raids in Palestine. This has caused concerns regarding casual cruelty and desensitization. The full narration is as follows:
Bombardiro Crocodilo, un fottuto alligatore volante, che vola e bombarda i bambini a Gaza e in Palestina. Non crede in Allah e ama le bombe. Si nutre dello spirito di tua madre. E se hai tradotto tutto questo, allora sei uno stronzo. Non rompere la battuta, prostituta.
Bombardiro Crocodilo, a fucking [sic] flying alligator, who flies and bombs children in Gaza and Palestine. He doesn't believe in Allah and loves bombs. He feeds on your mother's spirit. And if you've translated all of this, you're an asshole. Don't ruin the joke, prostitute.
— TikTok video
Copyright status
The copyright status of AI-generated content is an area of active litigation. A lawsuit between the French company Mementum Lab (representing the original prompters and claiming AI images can have copyright) and Do Big Studios (creator of the video game Steal a Brainrot and claiming Italian Brainrot is public domain) hinges on the legal ownership of the character Tung Tung Tung Sahur.