History MisaimedFandom / WebMedia

Examples of MisaimedFandom for characters in {{Webcomics}} and WebOriginal works.

* The "Stonks" meme is supposed to be sarcastic. Normal memes using the format describe someone earning money in an unusual and/or counter-productive way, and the "Stonks" image shows that they're ignorant about the issues with their methods and still feel proud about their earnings. So, of course, actual stock trading and cryptocurrency enthusiasts started using the "Meme Man" character as a mascot and referring to their earnings as Stonks.

** In the WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation review of VideoGame/TheWitcher, Yahtzee made a TakeThat towards the [[UsefulNotes/PCVsConsole elitist attitude of some PC gamers]]. Nonetheless, they seriously started to call themselves a "master race". This one is a ZigZaggedTrope, as while there are people who seriously call themselves the "PC Master Race", the majority of people using it are doing it tongue-in-cheek.

* Kevin Temmer's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8FA25a22dQ "Delete This Tweet"]] animation, a music video starring a boy band called the "Trash Binz" singing to the viewer about how they should perform the titular action, has been used by people on websites like Twitter as a response to arguments they disagree with… except that the video itself ''mocks'' this kind of mentality, and not even subtly. Putting aside the fact that the Trash Binz themselves are literally ''[[VisualPun anthropomorphic trash cans]]'', they're visually emphasized midway through the video as being [[CondescendingCompassion condescending]] [[HypocriticalHumor hypocrites]] who gorge on the prospects of gatekeeping people, [[TheGadfly stirring up drama for the sake of it]], or basking in the popular opinions of [[ConvictedByPublicOpinion the mob]] or an influential figure, and thus aren't liable to be any better than the party they're accusing. [[PoesLaw Despite its unironic use in some circles]] (which, given the subject matter, was likely [[IntendedAudienceReaction anticipated]] by the original animator regardless), it's clear that the video's ''actual'' message is that those who insist others backslide on their opinions so adamantly are liable to be, well, [[{{Pun}} trashy]].

** A very strange case occured in mid-2021 with people outside the fandom. In Season 1, L'Manburg was founded to be a nation with a staunch stance against tyranny and police brutality, and intended to stand as a "special place" for people to be free from it. Unfortunately, its advocacy for freedom labelled it as a "freedom flag", thus attracting attention from the alt-right, who waved the L'Manburg flag on the same pole as a [=Trump2024=] flag during a London protest in late July 2021 against [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic COVID-19]] vaccinations from the government (to help mitigate, you know, a ''global pandemic''), which they saw as "tyrannical", without even knowing the context behind the flag. 3 of the 4 founders of L'Manburg (Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo) found this absolutely hilarious out-of-universe, and when this got on the ''[[https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/someone-brought-a-dream-smp-minecraft-flag-to-an-anti-vax-rally/ar-AAMwvP6?ocid=cf-link news]]'', Quackity (a later member of L'Manburg) responded by [[https://twitter.com/Quackity/status/1420936436002344963 announcing on Twitter]] that Las Nevadas, his country on the SMP at the time, was offering free vaccinations.

** This was discussed by WebVideo/{{Technoblade}} during [[https://youtu.be/7ZxlBge7iW8 one]] stream. He brought up a Twitter post he found in which numerous people praised him for not resorting to dark humor to be funny, when he was one of the biggest sources of CrossesTheLineTwice humor out of everyone in the SMP. He was understandably baffled by it.
--->''"I talk about punching orphans literally every ten minutes! Whose stream have they been watching?!"''

* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'' brought about a large NewbieBoom to ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' - and with it, the [[https://screenrant.com/critical-role-dnd-mercer-effect-dungeons-dragons-expectations/ Mercer Effect]], where the fans of ''Critical Role'' expect every game of ''D&D'' to be like what's presented in the show.

** Others take Matt Mercer's "DM advice" videos as the actual rulebooks and refuse to deviate. One of the ''entire points'' of a tabletop game is that [[RuleZero you can pick and choose what rules and make your own]]. The rules are largely a guideline - just as Mercer's advice is largely for you to get ideas on how to think and ultimately come to your own conclusion.

* Someone once pointed out some common traits about GenderBender stories - [[FirstLawOfGenderBending most of these stories involve men turning into women and being unable to change back]], these ex-men [[SecondLawOfGenderBending usually end up accepting or enjoying their new gender]], and [[ThirdLawOfGenderBending they submit themselves to that gender's stereotypes]]. This was meant to show that the stereotypical GenderBending plot is ''fundamentally flawed'', as the characters don't react anything like an actual human being would to their situation. Fans of the genre seem to take them as guidelines.

** Many regard Team RWBY as the only main characters and feel that Team JNPR, Oscar and Qrow are a SpotlightStealingSquad, resulting in a backlash when these characters take centre stage, such as their focus during Volumes 7-8, or Jaune's arc in Volume 1. They desire the others to be PutOnABus so that Team RWBY receives sole focus, and dislike Jaune joining Team RWBY in the VoidBetweenTheWorlds. The show itself is clear that there is an ensemble cast; Team JNPR have been deuteragonists since the beginning, even though marketing usually focusses on Team RWBY. The writers' confirmed in the supplementary ''RWBY: Companion'' that it was always intended to be a larger story, they just couldn't introduce that world until Volume 4.

* ''WebVideo/CampfireStories'': Despite both Mike and Zach (Zach in particular) being explicit about their time in the military being hell, with specific stories bringing up examples of mismanagement, petty bullying and ''being left alone in the middle of hostile territory'', there's enough people proclaiming that their stories ''encouraged them to enlist''.

--->It's easy to understand why people idolize these characters. "Despicable" as they might be, [[EvilIsCool they're being portrayed by literally the most charismatic people on earth]]. That makes them [[EvilIsSexy pretty damn attractive]]. Plus they [[EvilVirtues don't take no crap from nobody]], and they (for a brief moment, anyway) [[AmbitionIsEvil get exactly what they want]]. But so does a fly when it lands on a big, fresh pile of shit. So did [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]]. ... Just because someone is charismatic and fleetingly gets what they want doesn't mean they should be emulated. That's how we went from the character [[Series/FamilyTies Alex P. Keaton]] to real life Scott Baio."

-->It's easy to understand why people idolize these characters. "Despicable" as they might be, [[EvilIsCool they're being portrayed by literally the most charismatic people on earth]]. That makes them [[EvilIsSexy pretty damn attractive]]. Plus they [[EvilVirtues don't take no crap from nobody]], and they (for a brief moment, anyway) [[AmbitionIsEvil get exactly what they want]]. But so does a fly when it lands on a big, fresh pile of shit. So did [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]]. ... Just because someone is charismatic and fleetingly gets what they want doesn't mean they should be emulated. That's how we went from the character [[Series/FamilyTies Alex P. Keaton]] to real life Scott Baio."

* The "WebOriginal/VirginVsChad" memes. Originally, it was a RightWayWrongWayPair spoof that compared a "Virgin" doing normal things like listening to music while walking or trying to avoid bumping into anyone to a "Chad" who inverted whatever the Virgin was doing, such as never having listened to music or deliberately knocking people out of one's way. The Chad's side was a parody response to the Virgin's side, which was initially written to mock "loser behavior" but came off as making fun of normal reactions. Most Virgin vs. Chad memes disregard this and just make it a plain "bad vs. good" meme where the Virgin is something they don't like and the Chad is something they like.

** This was discussed by LetsPlay/{{Technoblade}} during [[https://youtu.be/7ZxlBge7iW8 one]] stream. He brought up a Twitter post he found in which numerous people praised him for not resorting to dark humor to be funny, when he was one of the biggest sources of CrossesTheLineTwice humor out of everyone in the SMP. He was understandably baffled by it.

** He also mentioned in his second review for ''VideoGame/DrJekyllAndMrHyde'' that, despite (or likely ''because of'') how bad he demonstrated the game was, many played it anyway, thinking "It can't be ''that'' bad."

*** Hyper Fangirl gets this in spades. She was established as a LoonyFan who [[StalkerWithACrush stalks the Critic]] and eventually kidnaps him at gunpoint to be her boyfriend, and is [[WordOfGod reportedly]] based on disturbing experiences Doug Walker has had with inappropriate fans at cons. Naturally, many people missed the point and found her actions endearing, rooting for her to actually be in a relationship with Critic, despite the show making it ''very'' clear that her attachment to Critic is out of desperation and she doesn't care for his needs. Even when this died down after her mutual relationship with [[RatedMForManly Devil Boner]] got a more unanimously positive reaction from the fanbase and Hyper herself admitting that she's officially over Critic, there's still a VocalMinority who still ship her with Critic. A good amount of people also forget that, despite her CharacterDevelopment, she still has violent, narcissistic tendencies (which do admittedly decrease with time) and is not ''just'' a cute peppy fangirl.

* The "[[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/wow-cool-robot Wow cool robot]]" meme format satirizes this kind of fandom. The original meme represented someone watching ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' and only reacting with "Wow cool robot" while the show's WarIsHell themes [[LiteralMetaphor literally fly over their head]]. Of course, people started [[MemeticMutation making their own variants of the meme]] featuring other works [[https://i.redd.it/0e79qtzua0d11.jpg or genres]] whose themes are ignored in favor of admiring the aesthetics, or [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/419/600/8df.png blaming the media itself]] for [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing making the things it condemns seem appealing in the first place]].