Meaning
What does Weaponized autism mean?
Weaponized autism is the expression referring to the extensive capacities of lonely, socially awkward internet dwellers, like 4chan and 8chan users, who are often called autists, as a running joke on the internet.
Origin
What's the origin of Weaponized autism?
The term was first used on the humor site Cracked in a publication called “The 5 Ridiculous Martial Arts Movies Ever” shared in 2010.
In here the abilities of the protagonist, from the 2008 fight film, Chocolate, are labeled as “weaponized autism”.
Spread & Usage
How did Weaponized autism spread?
In the years following 2014, the term has surfaced on sites from FunnyJunk to Reddit to 4chan and YouTube.
The most outstanding case of the term labeled a 4chan conversation, where users identified a rebel base in Syria, which allegedly resulted in the bombing of the camp by mother Russia, shortly after.
Screenshots of this thread were then uploaded to Reddit, where users categorized the phenomenon as “weaponized” and “military grade autism”.
One of YouTube’s 2016 videos, uploaded by dougRiss, called Anime Thesis is a theory about how Japan has created the whole anime genre as a sort of weaponized autism, targeting the western world’s youth.
Urban Dictionary added their entry on the phrase in 2016, with 2019 bringing a plethora of other definitions.
External resources
- Know Your Meme – Weaponized Autism
- Urban Dictionary – weaponized autism