They’re not saying someone should kill Trump. But they’re coming close. 76%
By Danielle Paquette0% John Woodrow Cox0%
5/9/2026, 9:00:45 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 25 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Authority, Ambiguity (Equivocation), and Post Hoc (False Cause), with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 21.1% saturation with 130 hits. Analysis detected 1,055 faulty-reasoning hits from 615 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 68.8% and a BS Rank of 76% (4,046 of 16,813 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 75.90% of the article peer group.
Peyton Vanest was fuming about President Donald Trump when he grabbed his phone and hit record.
“Somebody should,” he declared, pausing for dramatic effect.
“Somebody should, you know?”
“If somebody knew what needed to be done, that person should probably just do it …” the 27-year-old progressive influencer continued, conspicuously not defining “it.”
“Somebody should do it” and its variants have become increasingly popular online memes.
The deliberately vague phrasing — a wink to violence without an explicit call to action — has spread across social media platforms, often in the form of memes, videos and jokes about prominent figures, including Trump, President Biden and Elon Musk.
The trend has spiked in recent months, according to data from the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, a nonprofit that tracks extremist content online.
Experts who study online extremism say the memes are part of a broader cultural shift toward accepting violent political discourse.
They worry that the ambiguous language could normalize the idea of political violence and inspire real-world attacks.
“It’s a way of saying, ‘I want this to happen, but I’m not going to say it outright,’” said J.M.
Berger, a researcher at the International Center for Counter-Terrorism at The Hague.
“It’s a dog whistle for violence.”
The memes are often protected under the First Amendment, as they do not meet the legal threshold for a true threat.
But they can still have a chilling effect on public discourse, experts say.
“These kinds of jokes can make people feel unsafe,” said Joan Donovan, assistant professor of technology and social change at Harvard’s Kennedy School.
“They can also embolden people who are already inclined toward violence.”
The trend has been particularly pronounced on TikTok, where young users have created videos using the phrase to express frustration with political figures.
Some videos have garnered millions of views.
In one viral video, a user lip-syncs to a clip of Trump saying, “Somebody should do something about that,” while text on the screen reads, “Somebody should do it.”
The video has been viewed more than 2 million times.
TikTok has removed some of the videos for violating its community guidelines, but many remain online.
The platform’s algorithm often promotes controversial content, which can amplify the reach of the memes.
“Social media companies have a responsibility to moderate this kind of content,” said Alex Stamos, director of the Stanford Internet Observatory.
“They need to be more proactive about identifying and removing it.”
The rise of the memes comes at a time of heightened political tension in the United States.
Trump has faced two assassination attempts in recent months, and the country is deeply divided over issues such as immigration and gun control.
Experts say the memes reflect a broader desensitization to violence in American society.
They also point to the role of social media in amplifying extremist rhetoric.
“We’re seeing a lot more of this kind of content online,” said Berger.
“It’s becoming more mainstream.”
The trend has also spread to other platforms, including X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit.
On X, users have posted memes using the phrase to mock political opponents.
On Reddit, subreddits dedicated to political humor have seen an increase in posts using the phrase.
Some users have expressed concern about the memes, saying they could inspire real-world violence.
Others argue that they are harmless jokes.
“I think it’s just people venting their frustration,” said one X user.
“It’s not a call to action.”
But experts say the line between joke and call to action can be blurry.
“Even if it’s meant as a joke, it can still have a real impact,” said Donovan.
“Words matter.”
Analysis
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