Gangstalking / Gangstalkers

About

Gang Stalking refers to a conspiracy theory held by some that they are the subject of a targeted attack perpetrated by a large, organized group of people stalking them with the intent of causing them harm. It is often characterized as a delusion associated with mental illness and schizophrenia because the gang stalkers that are perceived by the individual are often imagined. The term dates back to at least the early 2000s online, though the concept itself is much older. Memes about the phenomenon weren't prevalent across platforms until 2017 under the umbrella of ironic schizoposting.

Origin

The term "gang stalking" dates back to the year 2000, according to an April 2020 epidemiological review published by researchers Lorraine Sheridan and David V. James called, "The Phenomenology of Group Stalking."^[1][2] The researchers studied 50 descriptions of gang stalking identified from the internet and subjected them to content analysis. The study didn't give the cause of gang stalking any definite conclusion, instead, it compiled the gathered accounts to give a better view of the phenomenon for the scientific community going forward (as it was the first to do so).

As an additional origin note, the subreddit /r/Gangstalking^[3] was created on December 21st, 2011, increasing the memetic usage of the term online. As of December 2021, it has roughly 25,600 members. The first post^[4] to the subreddit gave a link to a website called gangstalkingworld.com, which has since been deactivated. However, multiple versions of it, including one from as far back as 2006, can be accessed via the Wayback Machine.^[5] The site was a forum and information hub where victims of gangstalking confided.

Gang stalking started being referenced in memes as early as 2019. One of the first known memes about gang stalking was posted to the /r/Gangstalking subreddit on April 23rd, 2019, by Redditor^[6] vibes2892. The meme (shown below) uses an image of Post Malone squatting on top of a car, object labeling him and the car. The post received 87 likes in six months.

Spread

Although the above meme was one of the first gang stalking memes posted online, it doesn't quite represent the larger, ironic trend of gang stalking memes that became popularized in the years following under the umbrella of schizoposting. On sites like iFunny, gang stalking memes were posted throughout 2020. For instance, iFunnier^[7] @Sightless_2016 posted a gang stalking meme on July 29th, 2020, (shown below, left) that only received two smiles. iFunnier^[8] @ TheDawnIsYourEnemy posted a gang stalking meme on October 24th, 2020, (shown below, right) that received 304 likes over one year. These two memes were the first two ironic gang stalking memes posted on the site.

In December 2019, gangstalking-related content appeared on Instagram, with the first known example of this being a post from Instagram^[9] account @schizo_posting. The post (shown below) was a screenshot of a December 17th 4chan thread, receiving 493 likes in two years.

On November 10th, 2020, Instagram^[10] account @limpbizkitfan1999 posted a meme (shown below) that referenced gang stalking. It received roughly 1,700 likes over one year.

As gang stalking and gang stalkers became a more mainstream concept in meme culture, it started to combine with other schizoposting trends like Skinwalkers and Schizowave. It also spread to more niche platforms like TikTok. For instance, TikToker^[11] @1ryguy8972 posted a video (shown below) on November 12th, 2021, that related gang stalking to the Masculine Urge trend. His video received roughly 38,600 likes after being posted.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References