Ash Baby / Screaming Baby Made of Ash
Part of a series on AI Art. [View Related Entries]
Related Explainer: What In The World Is The 'Ash Baby'? The TikTok Reaction Meme Explained
About
Ash Baby or Screaming Baby Made of Ash is an AI-generated image of a small baby crying out while covered in ashes that was initially popularized on Reddit in October 2022. The image was later used in a series of videos on TikTok around early October 2023, mostly as a reaction image for TikTok duets related to bright lights burning people.
Origin
On October 25th, 2022, Redditor[1] u/HyperCool27 uploaded three images of babies made of ash (shown below) using OpenAI and DALL-E 2 technology. The post, titled "Screaming baby made of ash," amassed over 1,800 upvotes and 95 comments in a year.
Spread
The AI-generated image became a prevalent exploitable on TikTok after user @inert_malice[2] uploaded an animated video about the Ash Baby meme on October 13th, 2023. The video (shown below, left) amassed over 5 million plays and 1.2 million likes in a month.
The image was later used in a series of ironic videos dueting a @guinnessworldrecords[3] video of the "Brightest outsized flashlight." For instance, on November 18th, TikTok[4] user @brtallz posted a duet video showing his baby being flashed and transforming into the Screaming Baby Made of Ash (shown below, right), which amassed more than 9 million plays and 1.8 million likes in three days.
@inert_malice Woe, ash be upon ye #volcano #eruption #pompeii ♬ original sound – Shiticus
@brtallz Q isso cara #Meme #foryou #fy #humor #fyp ♬ original sound – zt0len
Various Examples
@el_cabezuco #ashbaby #volcan #weird #radiac #zodiac #holocaust #se #cabexudo ♬ sonido original – Cabezuco
@latlshat SCARY CLOSE UR EYES #lol #funny #ashbaby #scarybaby #fordalols #meme #funmy #scary ♬ windows breakcore – proloxx
@yerepito Pero era o no? #fortnite #fortniteog #fortnitechile #fortnitefail #fail #funny #humor #latino #chile ♬ sonido original – yerepito
@lazybear.vr MY EYES!!- wait.. I dont got any.. 🤔 | #vrchat #vrchatmoments #viral #trend #ashbaby #meme #fullbodytracking #fullbodytrackingvrchat #fyp #vrchatspartan #spartan #flashbang ♬ original sound – Guinness World Records