Circlejerk

In internet usage, a circlejerk is self-congratulatory, repetitive discussion among a group of people who reinforce one another's views without adding new information. The figurative sense, derived from a vulgar literal meaning, describes a conversation that exists mainly to let participants agree with each other and feel validated, often at the expense of an out-group being mocked.

The term is strongly associated with Reddit, where it is used both as criticism and as self-aware comedy. Communities are accused of "circlejerking" when the same opinions, jokes or memes are upvoted reflexively while dissent is buried. Reddit also hosts parody subreddits whose names end in "circlejerk," created to satirise the in-group habits of a parent community. The concept matters because it names a structural risk of vote-ranked forums: popular consensus rises to the top and can crowd out accuracy or genuine debate, a dynamic closely related to the "hivemind" critique.