Top 10 Times South Park Roasted The Internet

In "Safe Space," Eric Cartman posts a photo of himself online and receives a ton of disparaging comments about his weight. He cries to the principal, and it results in Butters becoming responsible for providing Cartman a filtered version of his social media persona. The episode is taking aim at the concept of “safe spaces” by taking things to a most illogical extreme - as “South Park” so often does. Ultimately, it’s mocking people on both sides of the issue - again, as “South Park” so often does - by showing the consequences of one’s actions - no matter how big or how small.

When Content creators filming themselves playing video games became a massive trend on YouTube, “South Park” wanted to jump right on it. Kyle can’t understand why his little brother wants to watch PewDiePie play a game instead of playing it himself. It starts to get a little over the top when Cartman ends up becoming a YouTuber who comments on people’s reactions which of course just makes the whole joke funnier. The story spans over two episodes and really hammers home the differences between older and new generations of content consumers. The PewDiePie cameo ends up being the cherry on top of the sundae.

Beloved by most fans of this show, season 10’s “Make Love, Not Warcraft” is a masterpiece in its delivery of comedic lines, combined with fantastic satire. To take out a griefer, the boys descend into the dark world of online gaming addiction. Spending every waking moment leveling up, we slowly see them turn into incoherent blobs of human flesh, all while the folks from Blizzard, who produce the actual game, insist there’s nothing they can do to help since they all have lives. In every conceivable way this episode roasts everyone who’s ever played a few too many rounds of an online game.

Have you ever had your friends relentlessly pester you to join some new app just because everyone else is on it too? That’s how Stan feels about Facebook. He’s not interested in commenting on photos, playing some farm game or poking his grandma. The show does a great job of illustrating the social pressures to join the next big thing. But what makes this even more notable is how commoditized online friends and followers can be. Kyle befriends a lonely boy and suddenly sees all his online friends drop him like a hot potato. Stan’s entire time “stuck” inside Facebook heavily satirizes the idea of how valuable so-called “friends” are when they’re nothing more than a number on a screen.

Planking, Owling, Pratting, and Teapotting. What the heck are all these? They were various memes where people would position themselves in an otherwise uncomfortable stance and have others take their photo. Ripping on the whole trend, “South Park” created “Faith Hilling”. The boys become obsessed with snapping photos of themselves in various places, all while pulling their shirts out to give the impression they have enlarged breasts. The boys become at odds with one another when other memes start to grow in popularity. The whole concept is a jab at the repeated occurrences of countless other photo memes.

The last few years have seen AI’s popularity skyrocket. One notable version of the technology whose use has increased exponentially has been ChatGPT. “South Park” lampooned the whole concept by having the kids at South Park Elementary use ChatGPT for everything from doing their homework, to talking to their girlfriends. Much of what we see is nothing more than a satirical look at AI; until you read the final rolling credits. Turns out ChatGPT helped write the very episode that mocked its own technology. Looks like even AI has a sense of humor.

Should you decide to open up TikTok these days, you’ll find a wide variety of content. Whether it be funny videos, people vlogging, or even livestreams, TikTok has become a veritable melting pot of short form content. But what really brought it to the mainstream was the barrage of TikTok “dances”; random people seemingly lip syncing and dancing to countless tunes from around the world. The trend was so popular, “South Park” gave us a great parody showing how Kyle and Tolkien had become obsessed with the new trend. To say that it’s accurate is an understatement.

Ever heard of trolltrace.com? It’s a fictional website and service portrayed in “South Park”. Much of the 20th season is spent around the idea of internet trolls never being caught. That is until Denmark launches this website which threatens to expose the internet histories of countless users. Much of the focus is on the motivations and ideals behind the trolls. It also leans heavily into the sometimes unintended consequences these individuals have on unsuspecting victims' mental health. The show does a great job of mocking the actions of these people, all while showing the adverse effects of their mockery.

The internet isn’t working, and the residents of “South Park” are freaking out, most notably Randy Marsh, who can’t live without it for one particular reason. What follows is a hilarious, over-the-top depiction of what people would be like should the internet just disappear. The episode gleefully mocks how dependent the world has become on the internet, even to the point where news anchors can’t report on the news since…you guessed it, there’s no internet. The ultimate solution to the crisis, however, is perhaps the funniest scene in the entire episode.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

No Matter What the Ad Says, It’s Never Really Free

Far Too Much Info on Ourselves Can Be Found Online

Even When It’s Not An Ad, It’s Probably An Ad

Canada’s on strike, and they want a piece of that internet money. Kyle and his friends put out a viral video hoping to help. The video they make itself is a parody of a real-world song which in itself is funny. But it’s when the boys go to collect their cash, we’re treated to every major viral video of the era. Tron Guy, Star Wars Guy, Sneezing Panda, Chocolate Rain and countless others all make an appearance, and even go to battle. Although some of the references may be dated now, the sheer number of them included, and the extremes the parodies go to, are nothing more than pure comedic gold.