Has social media taken Clanker too far?

Some people just can’t help but suck the fun out of things.

Case in point: the word “clanker,” a quasi-new slur circulating on social media aimed at AI chatbots. A few weeks ago, I reported on the trend as it gained traction on X and TikTok, mostly in satirical posts imagining a future where robots had fully integrated into society. It was dark humor rooted in resentment toward Big Tech and the growing role of AI in daily life.

But the originally ironic nature of the term didn’t last long.

Like many memes that start out as parody, “clanker” quickly morphed into something uglier. What started as a tongue-in-cheek Star Wars nod has since curdled into a pejorative that riffs on real racial slurs.

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It’s disappointing. In just a matter of weeks, the joke slid from harmless gags about not wanting a robot to serve us popcorn at the Tesla diner to full-on skits mimicking Jim Crow–era scenes of racial discrimination.

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When it comes to online slang, this phenomenon isn’t new. On social media — and in politics — language has long been co-opted into coded shorthand, especially for targeting Black communities. Think of how terms like “Critical Race Theory” or “DEI” get wielded as stand-ins, or how online slang once leaned on “ni🅱️🅱️a” and now, “yn.” The Uganda Knuckles “do you know da wey” meme famously got really racist, really fast.

It seems like the cycle is repeating itself once again.