Ballerina Cappuccina, as depicted by @brainrotpumpfun, is one of the most well-known (and least controversial) Italian brain-rot characters. Photo: @brainrotpumpfun via TikTok Even if it hasn’t ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Leslie Katz covers the intersection of culture, science and tech. Lirili Larila, an elephant-cactus hybrid, is one of the breakout ...

Meet Ballerina Cappuccina and the Italian brain rot crew, an absurd group of A.I.-generated characters that are flooding TikTok. By Alisha Haridasani Gupta The first thing you need to know about ...

In the first half of 2025, she racked up over 55 million views on TikTok and four million likes, mostly from tweens glued to their cellphones. Not bad for an artificial intelligence-generated cartoon ...

What started as a chaotic internet joke has leapt from TikTok feeds to toy aisles. “Italian brain rot", a meme trend built around absurd, AI-generated images of mashup creatures with faux-Italian ...

This style of online content, which often consists of vaguely Italian-sounding gibberish, didn’t go viral in a vacuum. In the first half of 2025, she racked up over 55 million views on TikTok and four ...