document_type: empirical_research document_id: SPE-016-APP-A title: "Forensic Account of Semantic Circulation: Skibidi and 6/7" domain: political_economy / platform_studies / circulation_analysis status: working_draft version: 1.0 date: 2024-12-30 author: Lee Sharks intended_audiences: [researchers, practitioners, movement_strategists] licensing: CC_BY_4.0 abstract: | This appendix to SPE-016 provides empirical documentation of how two major viral semantic phenomena—Skibidi Toilet and the 6/7 meme—actually circulated through platform channels. The analysis traces origin points, platform jumps, modality transformations, and offline uptake to provide the circulatory evidence necessary to ground the theoretical framework in observable movement rather than structural inference alone. related_documents: [SPE-016] position_in_framework: empirical_appendix epistemic_status: Research in progress. Data compiled from documented sources. Gaps noted.

Forensic Account of Semantic Circulation

Skibidi Toilet and the 6/7 Meme

If we're going to intervene in semantic infrastructure, we must first map the roads.

Introduction: From Structure to Circulation

SPE-016 provides the structural analysis: why these phenomena propagate, what makes them flattening rather than liberatory, and what design constraints a liberatory alternative would need to satisfy.

This appendix provides the circulatory evidence: where did they originate, through what channels did they move, what modalities carried them, and how did they jump from platform to platform and from online to offline?

Without this evidence, intervention design risks targeting the wrong layer.

Case Study 1: Skibidi Toilet

1.1 Origin Point

Creator: Alexey Gerasimov (alias: DaFuq!?Boom!), Georgian animator

First upload: February 7, 2023

Platform: YouTube Shorts

Format: 11-second video produced in Source Filmmaker

Content: A toilet with a human head emerging, singing a mashup of "Give It To Me" by Timbaland and "Dom Dom Yes Yes" by Biser King

Initial context: Created as a "joke video" inspired by creator's recurring nightmares about heads coming out of toilets

Pre-existing elements:

The song mashup ("Dom Dom Yes Yes") was already circulating on TikTok via the "belly dancing guy" (Yasin Cengiz) trend in 2022
DaFuq!?Boom! had ~1 million subscribers in 2021, with prior viral hits
Source Filmmaker animation community existed as niche audience

1.2 Initial Growth Phase (February - April 2023)

Platform: YouTube Shorts (primary)

Growth pattern: Gradual accumulation through consistent episode releases

Episode release cadence: Near-daily during initial phase

Date	Event
Feb 7, 2023	Episode 1 uploaded
March 30 - April 18	Episodes 6-8 uploaded
April 19	Season 2 compilation: 57 million views in one month
April 25-29	Episodes 9-11: war narrative escalates
April 29	Season 3 compilation: 108 million views in three weeks
End of April	DaFuq!?Boom! enters Top 50 most-viewed US YouTube channels (#33)

Key affordance: YouTube Shorts algorithm promoted short, episodic content with high completion rates

Narrative development: The series evolved from single-joke format to serialized war narrative (Skibidi Toilets vs. Cameramen), creating return viewership

1.3 Explosion Phase (May - July 2023)

Inflection point: Early May to June 2023

Platform expansion:

YouTube (primary) → TikTok (secondary)
By end of June 2023: 15.8 million YouTube subscribers, 2.8 million TikTok followers

View accumulation:

By June 2023: 5 billion total views (most-viewed US YouTube channel that month)
By November 2023: 65 billion views across platforms

Fan content emergence:

May 6, 2023: First major fan video (28 million views in two weeks)
Fan analysis videos, theory content, lore documentation began

Cross-platform recognition:

July 9, 2023: Viral Twitter post calling it "Gen Alpha's Slenderman" (31,000 likes)
Mainstream media coverage began

1.4 Behavioral Uptake Phase (June - August 2023)

"Skibidi Toilet Syndrome" emergence:

Date	Event	Platform	Location
June 29, 2023	First viral video of child imitating Skibidi	TikTok	Indonesia
July 2023	Term "Sindrom Skibidi Toilet" coined	Indonesian web	Indonesia
July 12-14	Warning videos about "syndrome"	YouTube/TikTok	Indonesia
July 22-26	Indonesian YouTubers react to syndrome memes	YouTube	Indonesia
August 2023	Memes spread to English-speaking platforms	TikTok/Reddit	Global
August 4, 2023	Malaysian kindergarten teacher reports classroom impact	Facebook	Malaysia

Offline manifestation documented:

Children popping out of containers singing the song
Imitation of head movements and sounds
Drawings of characters appearing in schools
Teachers reporting disruption

Geographic spread pattern: Indonesia → Malaysia → Global English-speaking

1.5 Modality Analysis

Primary carrier: Audio-visual (video + song)

The song as semantic packet:

The "skibidi" vocalization is the extractable unit
Children reproduce the sound without needing to watch the video
Audio meme travels separately from visual content

Visual component:

Character designs (Cameramen, Speakermen, TV Men) become drawable/reproducible
Children's drawings document visual transmission

Gestural component:

Head-popping movement
Container-emergence behavior
These require no technology to reproduce

Platform affordances exploited:

YouTube Shorts: Algorithm promotion of short episodic content
TikTok: Sound reuse functionality
Roblox: Fan-made games (millions of players per month)
School hallways: Peer imitation, no platform required

1.6 Channel Map

ORIGIN
  │
  ▼
YouTube Shorts (Creator channel)
  │
  ├──► TikTok (sound reuse, reaction videos)
  │       │
  │       └──► Instagram Reels
  │
  ├──► YouTube (fan content, analysis, compilations)
  │
  ├──► Roblox (fan games)
  │
  ├──► Twitter/X (meme discussion, "Gen Alpha's Slenderman" framing)
  │
  └──► School hallways (peer imitation, no platform)
           │
           └──► Home (children performing for parents)
                    │
                    └──► TikTok (parent documentation videos)
                              │
                              └──► "Syndrome" discourse

1.7 Key Findings: Skibidi

Origin platform: YouTube Shorts, not TikTok
Primary affordance: Serialized short-form video with narrative hook
Cross-platform jump mechanism: Sound reuse (TikTok), fan games (Roblox), parent documentation (TikTok again)
Offline uptake: Gestural and vocal imitation required no technology
Geographic pattern: Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia) was early amplification zone for behavioral uptake documentation
Time to mass saturation: ~4-5 months from first upload to "syndrome" discourse

Case Study 2: The 6/7 Meme

2.1 Origin Point

Creator: Skrilla (Philadelphia rapper)

Song: "Doot Doot (6 7)"

Release dates:

Unofficial: December 1, 2024
Official: February 7, 2025

Lyrical content: "6-7" appears as a phrase with no fixed meaning

Possible references: 67th Street (Philadelphia), police code 10-67
Creator has stated he intentionally left meaning undefined

Initial context: Philadelphia drill scene music

2.2 Sports Edit Phase (December 2024 - February 2025)

First viral use: December 1, 2024 - TikTok video edit of LaMelo Ball (Charlotte Hornets guard, listed height: 6'7")

Key video: TikToker @matvii_grinblat posts edit where commentator mentions Ball's height, triggering the song—9.6 million views in two months

Mechanism:

The number "6-7" coincides with basketball player height
Sports highlight edits use the song as backing
The phrase becomes associated with basketball content

2.3 Personality Amplification Phase (Early 2025)

Key figure: Taylen "TK" Kinney (Overtime Elite basketball player)

Behavior: Began inserting "six seven" into interviews and content, paired with distinctive hand gesture (see-saw motion, palms up)

Viral clip: Kinney rating a Starbucks drink as "six seven"

Effect: The phrase detaches from basketball height and becomes general-purpose interjection

Nickname earned: "Mr. 6-7"

2.4 The "67 Kid" Phase (March 2025)

Viral moment: Maverick Trevillian appears in YouTuber Cam Wilder's basketball video, shouting "six seven" with exaggerated hand gesture

Effect: Child becomes face of the meme, dubbed "67 Kid"

Subsequent development (August 2025): Grotesque photo edits of Trevillian circulate as "SCP-067 Kid" (analog horror parody)

2.5 Mass Saturation Phase (September - October 2025)

School return timing: Surge coincides with students returning to school

Classroom impact:

Teachers report constant disruption
Some schools implement bans
Reports of students saying it "up to 75 times daily"

Institutional recognition:

Dictionary.com names "67" 2025 Word of the Year
Merriam-Webster adds entry defining it as "nonsensical expression"
South Park episode (Season 28, Episode 1, October 2025)
Google easter egg: searching "67" triggers hand-gesture animation

Political uptake:

Connecticut Representative Bill Buckbee (67th District) uses phrase in legislative session
Utah Representative Blake Moore references trend while presiding over House
VP JD Vance jokes about banning the phrase after child yells it in church

2.6 Modality Analysis

Primary carrier: Audio (song lyric) + Gestural (hand motion)

The phrase as semantic packet:

Two syllables: "six" + "seven"
No semantic content required
Infinitely repeatable
Trigger-based activation (any appearance of numbers 6 and 7)

The gesture:

See-saw hand motion, palms facing up
Can be performed without sound
Visible signal of in-group membership

Trigger mechanism:

Any occurrence of 67 (order numbers, scores, times, addresses)
Becomes compulsive response to environmental stimulus

2.7 Channel Map

ORIGIN
  │
  ▼
Skrilla - "Doot Doot" (Music release)
  │
  ▼
TikTok (Basketball edits, LaMelo Ball)
  │
  ├──► Overtime Elite content (Taylen Kinney amplification)
  │       │
  │       └──► Hand gesture standardization
  │
  ├──► YouTube (Cam Wilder video → "67 Kid")
  │
  ├──► Instagram Reels
  │
  └──► School hallways
           │
           ├──► Classroom disruption
           │
           └──► Trigger-response pattern (any 67 occurrence)
                    │
                    └──► Institutional response (bans, media coverage)
                              │
                              └──► Political/cultural uptake

2.8 Key Findings: 6/7

Origin platform: Music release, but TikTok sports edits were the propagation mechanism
Primary affordance: Sound reuse in edits + coincidental number-height match
Key amplifier: Sports content creator ecosystem (Overtime Elite)
Offline uptake: Gestural + vocal, trigger-based activation pattern
Semantic emptiness as feature: The deliberate meaninglessness is what made it spread
Time to mass saturation: ~10 months from unofficial release to "Word of the Year" status

Comparative Analysis

Channel Comparison

Dimension	Skibidi Toilet	6/7 Meme
Origin platform	YouTube Shorts	Music release → TikTok
Primary modality	Audio-visual narrative	Audio-gestural interjection
Semantic content	Characters, lore, narrative	None (deliberate emptiness)
Offline manifestation	Imitative play (container emergence)	Trigger-response vocalization
Geographic amplification	Southeast Asia	United States
Time to saturation	~4-5 months	~10 months
Institutional response	"Syndrome" discourse, parental concern	School bans, dictionary recognition

Affordance Exploitation

Both exploited:

Short-form video algorithm promotion
Sound reuse functionality
Peer imitation dynamics
Low barrier to participation

Skibidi-specific:

Serialized narrative creating return viewership
Character design enabling fan content
Game platform integration (Roblox)

6/7-specific:

Number coincidence (height, scores, order numbers)
Trigger-based activation (environmental cues)
Sports content creator ecosystem

Flattening Properties Confirmed

Both phenomena demonstrate the properties SPE-016 identifies as flattening:

Repetition without invention: Participation means repeating the token, not generating new meaning
No accumulation: The hundredth "skibidi" or "six seven" is identical to the first
Easy capture: Both have been commercially co-opted (merchandise, official recognition)
Exhaustion: "Brainrot" discourse emerges around both

Implications for Intervention Design

What This Evidence Shows

YouTube Shorts and TikTok are primary channels for Gen Alpha semantic circulation
Sound reuse is a key propagation mechanism—the audio can travel separately from original context
Sports/gaming content creator ecosystems are amplification nodes
Offline uptake happens through gestural and vocal imitation—no technology required once pattern is learned
Trigger-based patterns spread faster than narrative-dependent patterns
~4-10 months from origin to mass saturation is typical timeline
Southeast Asia and sports communities have been significant amplification zones

What This Means for LSA Design

A platform-native LSA must:

Fit the YouTube Shorts / TikTok format (these are the actual channels)
Have an extractable audio component that can travel via sound reuse
Have a gestural component that enables offline propagation
NOT be purely trigger-based (that's flattening)—must require invention
Account for sports/gaming amplification nodes as potential seeding points
Anticipate ~6-month timeline for initial propagation testing

Gaps in This Research

This appendix does not yet provide:

Quantitative platform-specific metrics (exact view counts by platform over time)
Demographic breakdowns (age, location, platform-specific audiences)
Network analysis (who shared to whom, influence mapping)
Algorithmic factors (what specific algorithm features promoted these)
Offline ethnography (systematic classroom observation, playground research)

These gaps should be addressed in subsequent research.

Conclusion

The theoretical framework of SPE-016 is now grounded in observable circulation patterns. The channels are identifiable: YouTube Shorts, TikTok, sports content ecosystems, school hallways. The modalities are specified: audio-visual, gestural, trigger-based. The timelines are documented: 4-10 months to mass saturation.

This evidence confirms that:

The flattening channel IS the industrial channel where intervention must occur
Retreat to artisanal channels would miss the actual circulation pathways
Liberatory intervention must fit these affordances while resisting flattening properties

The roads have been mapped. The question now is what to send down them.

Document Metadata

document_id: SPE-016-APP-A
title: Forensic Account of Semantic Circulation
subtitle: Skibidi Toilet and the 6/7 Meme
word_count: ~3,200
status: working_draft
position: empirical_appendix_to_SPE-016
research_status: initial_compilation_from_documented_sources
gaps_identified: quantitative_metrics, demographics, network_analysis, algorithmic_factors, ethnography
next_steps: deepen_platform-specific_analysis, conduct_offline_observation

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