What does shitlord mean?
Shitlord is slang for an internet troll who posts shocking and often bigoted content for the purpose of provoking a reaction, especially from left-leaning social justice advocates. Some shitlords ironically embrace the term.
The term can also refer to an expert in memes and meme culture, or it can function as a vulgar insult more generally.
Examples of shitlord
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Examples of shitlord
Where does shitlord come from?
Early record for the term comes on internet Usenet forums in the mid-1990s. In 1995, a commenter used Shitlord to describe Star Wars‘s villain Darth Vader. A 1996 instance simply employs the term as a coarse insult.
Shitlord took off in the early 2000s as an insult against people with bigoted views, such as homophobia, appearing in the forum of the comedy website Something Awful in 2009.
The word spreads in the early 2010s online, with lord a popular term in internet slang for someone showing some extreme, objectionable quality, e.g., douchelord or edgelord (the latter can overlap with shitlord).
Yeah, back when "edgy" was synonymous with "cool".
Now "edgy" is short for "edgelord", and "edgelord" is synonymous with "shitlord"… leading one to conclude "edgy" is now synonymous with "shitty".
— DebonaireToastʕ•ᴥ•ʔノ (@DebonaireToast) February 13, 2019
The term also appears to have been boosted by the term shitposting, or posting off-topic, false, absurd, or offensive contributions on a forum to derail its discussions or provoke its participants.
I thought I was a shitposting memelord. Turns out I'm just a meme posting shitlord.
— Ross Rifle (@punknoodle113) April 13, 2017
Internet trolls who frequently post racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise offensive content on social media and internet forums, have come to embrace the label shitlord. Self-avowed shitlords tend to social justice warriors. In 2014, shitlords got their own meme blog, called Just Shitlord Things.
justshitlordpics.tumblr.com
Later in the 2010s, shitlord appears to have evolved into a more general term for a person knowledgeable and enthusiastic about memes and meme culture.
He is a Shitlord sending Pepe memes to the GOP cucks. https://t.co/2Xw4LXDcvv
— RAMZPAUL (@ramzpaul) May 26, 2016
Shitlord is also widely used as a colorful insult for a “contemptible person” more generally.
Earlier me:"Lets go to sleep at a reasonable time tonight"
*night*
Current me:"Earlier me is such a jackass huh?"Me:"Yeah what a shitlord"
— Renegade Roo 🔜 BLFC (@renegade_roo) January 29, 2016
Who uses shitlord?
Shitlords tend to be white, cisgender, and male, although that’s not always the case.
Context is key for shitlord, as the boundary between irony and sincerity is not always clear on the internet.
Thinking of two posts which if offered simultaneously will make me both SJW and shitlord AT THE SAME MOMENT. Some kinda rift will result.
— SnittyGrappleHat (@Popehat) September 5, 2015
Some politically progressive people use shitlord to insult right-wing men.
Gross. Shitlord Milo Y is here at DFW. Just when I thought this airport couldn’t suck more.
— snipe, mother of assets 🐾 (@snipeyhead) April 12, 2019
However, some of those same right-wing people call themselves shitlords as a kind of ironic badge of honor for “owning the libs.”
If u go by your online alias IRL to trigger libs, #UMightBeAShitlord.
— Definitely_Shitlord (@YMBA_Shitlord) June 1, 2016
Others use shitlord to comment another a person’s expertise in internet culture and memes…
For anyone who ever wondered if @Danjitsu was a memeing shitlord
This is his birthday cake pic.twitter.com/IggW5hMaji
— SoulFire Photography 🐻 #HereWeStand (@SoulfirePhotos) April 13, 2019
… or simply to insult people doing something annoying or ridiculous.
My shitlord children have set my Netflix profile to only allow “little kids” or “older kids and below” as viewing options. #KidsForSale pic.twitter.com/mWlY64JoLB
— Bunny Brethren (@BunnyBrethren) April 15, 2019