Copypasta

Copypasta is a block of text that is copied and pasted repeatedly across the internet, spreading from forum to forum and platform to platform much like a meme. The word is a playful blend of "copy and paste," and the texts themselves range from heartfelt-sounding rants and absurd stories to chain messages, jokes, and deliberately provocative screeds. Copypasta is often deployed for humor or to bait reactions from people who do not realize the passage is a recycled, well-worn piece of internet folklore rather than an original, sincere statement. Merriam-Webster, which has tracked the term, defines it broadly as data such as a block of text that has been copied and spread widely online; usage traces back to anonymous imageboard culture around 2006.

On Reddit, copypasta thrives in comment sections and dedicated communities such as r/copypasta, where users archive, remix, and resurface popular passages. Familiar examples—like the "Navy Seal" rant or various emoji-laden gag texts—are pasted into threads as in-jokes that signal shared cultural literacy. Because copypasta is repetitive by design, it sits in tension with moderation: when used to brigade, derail, or harass, mass-pasted text can be treated as spam or rule-breaking, so the line between community humor and disruptive flooding often depends on context and the norms of the specific subreddit.