51 Chaotic And Unhinged Memes That Only Fans Of Niche Humor Will Truly Get

Goblins are, seemingly, everywhere these days.

Hilariously, as reported by Wired, OpenAI has a bit of a goblin problem.

The instructions in Codex CLI, a command line tool for using AI to generate code, state that you should “never talk about goblins, gremlins, raccoons, trolls, ogres, pigeons, or other animals or creatures unless it is absolutely and unambiguously relevant to the user's query.”

Some social media users have noticed that OpenAI’s models sometimes become obsessed with goblins, as well as other creatures, when used to power OpenClaw, a tool that lets AI run apps running on your computer.

Fairytales, fantasy books, movies, video games, and (now) AI hallucinations aside, the internet’s obsession with behaving goblins, goblin behavior, and goblin-dom is actually quite recent.

In 2022, the Oxford Word of the Year, chosen by the public, was ‘goblin mode.’ The slang term basically refers to behavior that is "unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy.”

The BBC reports that ‘goblin mode’ won by a landslide, making up 93% of the total with a whopping 318,956 votes. Typically, people use ‘goblin mode’ in expressions such as ‘to go goblin mode’ or ‘I am in goblin mode.’

Being in goblin mode essentially means that you are rejecting social norms or expectations. It means living authentically, no matter how unglamorous the reality, and steering clear of ‘perfect’ curation and filters.

The term itself, goblin mode, first started appearing back in 2009, but only went truly viral in 2022. The restrictions during the pandemic were suddenly eased, and many people realized that they didn’t want to go back to how they lived before the lockdowns.

“Given the year we've just experienced, 'goblin mode' resonates with all of us who are feeling a little overwhelmed at this point. It's a relief to acknowledge that we're not always the idealized, curated selves that we're encouraged to present on our Instagram and TikTok feeds,” said Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages.

As The Guardian points out, goblin mode is the opposite of trying to be the best version of yourself. By embracing your inner goblin, you are rejecting things like getting up early to exercise, doing elaborate skincare routines, eating nutritious (if sometimes icky) food, and posting it all on social media to get praise.

Your inner goblin is, essentially, rebelling against the unattainable aesthetic standards and unsustainable lifestyles that you see while scrolling on social media.

“Goblin mode really does speak to the times and the zeitgeist, and it is certainly a 2022 expression. People are looking at social norms in new ways. It gives people the license to ditch social norms and embrace new ones,” American linguist and lexicographer Ben Zimmer explained the significance of the phrase and the shift in society.

Created a couple of years ago as a Facebook group open to the public, ‘Unhinged Goblinposting’ boasts 592k members at the time of writing.

The team running the project encourages everyone to “unleash your inner goblin,” and positions the group as a palace for “feral homies,” “neurodivergent baddies,” and everyone who feels dependent on memes.

At its core, the community revolves around dark humor, as well as posting random, unhinged content “to your heart’s desire.”

That being said, the moderators and administrators stress that they still value quality. They stress that the group is meant to be inclusive and friendly. What’s more, new members have a 3-day waiting period before they can post or comment in the group. That way, the team keeps what they refer to as ‘bad chaos’ to a minimum.

“Fret not, you'll be a contributing part of the horde before you know it,” they quip.

The ‘Unhinged Goblinposting’ community stresses that they are goblins, not Karens. In short, they urge everyone not to take things too seriously and to avoid behaving in rude, hostile, petty, or catty ways.

Some posts or comments can end up being removed or declined for the group to fit in with Facebook’s overall community standards, even if the team behind the online group doesn’t see any issues with it.

Somewhat ironically, at the time of writing, the group has gotten a ‘time out’ on Facebook lasting a few days because of the type of content shared.

Be honest, how much did you vibe with these memes from ‘Unhinged Goblinposting’? Are you and your inner goblin fans of chaotic and random memes that are beyond bizarre and come at you like a bolt from the blue? Or do you prefer your memes to be more ‘classic,’ simple, straightforward, and dad-joke-y?

If you had to venture a guess, how do you think internet memes and social media humor might change in the near future? Share your and your inner goblin’s thoughts in the comments down below, with all the other readers.