{"id":3019,"date":"2008-04-02T22:54:48","date_gmt":"2008-04-02T17:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=3019"},"modified":"2026-10-28T13:39:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T08:09:45","slug":"got-rickrolled-whats-funny-about-rickrolling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/got-rickrolled-whats-funny-about-rickrolling\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Rickrolling? The Meme Explained, History and How to Rickroll"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Rickrolling<\/strong> is the internet prank where you share a link that looks useful or exciting, but it actually opens Rick Astley&#8217;s 1987 music video for &#8220;Never Gonna Give You Up&#8221;. When we first wrote about it on 2 April 2008, the day after YouTube rickrolled its own visitors, we admitted we didn&#8217;t quite get the joke. Almost two decades later the meme is still alive. Here is what rickrolling means, where it came from, its most famous moments and how to rickroll someone in good fun.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-68500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/rickrolling-meme-cassette.webp\" alt=\"White cassette tape on a bright orange background, a nod to the 1980s song behind rickrolling\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/rickrolling-meme-cassette.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/rickrolling-meme-cassette-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/rickrolling-meme-cassette-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/rickrolling-meme-cassette-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/rickrolling-meme-cassette-768x403.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Rickrolling means tricking someone into opening the music video of Rick Astley&#8217;s &#8220;Never Gonna Give You Up&#8221; by disguising the link as something else. It started on 4chan in 2007, went mainstream when YouTube rickrolled its homepage on April Fools&#8217; Day 2008, and the official video passed one billion YouTube views in July 2021.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af168452194b\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af168452194b\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/got-rickrolled-whats-funny-about-rickrolling\/#What_does_rickrolling_mean\" >What does rickrolling mean?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/got-rickrolled-whats-funny-about-rickrolling\/#Where_rickrolling_came_from\" >Where rickrolling came from<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/got-rickrolled-whats-funny-about-rickrolling\/#Famous_rickrolls\" >Famous rickrolls<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/got-rickrolled-whats-funny-about-rickrolling\/#How_to_rickroll_someone_kindly\" >How to rickroll someone (kindly)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/got-rickrolled-whats-funny-about-rickrolling\/#Why_rickrolling_is_still_funny\" >Why rickrolling is still funny<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/got-rickrolled-whats-funny-about-rickrolling\/#What_changed_since_2008\" >What changed since 2008<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/got-rickrolled-whats-funny-about-rickrolling\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/got-rickrolled-whats-funny-about-rickrolling\/#What_does_%E2%80%9Crickrolled%E2%80%9D_mean\" >What does &#8220;rickrolled&#8221; mean?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/got-rickrolled-whats-funny-about-rickrolling\/#When_did_rickrolling_start\" >When did rickrolling start?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/got-rickrolled-whats-funny-about-rickrolling\/#How_many_views_does_%E2%80%9CNever_Gonna_Give_You_Up%E2%80%9D_have\" >How many views does &#8220;Never Gonna Give You Up&#8221; have?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/got-rickrolled-whats-funny-about-rickrolling\/#Is_rickrolling_harmful\" >Is rickrolling harmful?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_does_rickrolling_mean\"><\/span>What does rickrolling mean?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In a rickroll, someone shares a link they claim is relevant, such as a movie trailer, leaked news or the answer to a question, but it leads to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">official &#8220;Never Gonna Give You Up&#8221; video<\/a>. The victim has been &#8220;rickrolled&#8221;. The joke is the surprise, plus the catchy, cheesy 1980s song that most people then can&#8217;t get out of their heads.<\/p>\n<p>The song was released as a single on 27 July 1987 from Rick Astley&#8217;s debut album <em>Whenever You Need Somebody<\/em> and became a worldwide number one. Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rick_Astley\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rick Astley<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rickrolling\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">history of rickrolling<\/a> on Wikipedia.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Where_rickrolling_came_from\"><\/span>Where rickrolling came from<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>2006, duckrolling:<\/strong> the joke began on 4chan as &#8220;duckrolling&#8221;, where links led to a picture of a duck on wheels.<\/li>\n<li><strong>May 2007:<\/strong> a user posted a link claiming to be the new <em>Grand Theft Auto IV<\/em> trailer that opened the Rick Astley video instead. Rickrolling was born.<\/li>\n<li><strong>1 April 2008:<\/strong> YouTube made every featured video on its homepage link to the song for April Fools&#8217; Day. It drew millions of views in a single day, and bloggers all over the web joined in.<\/li>\n<li><strong>November 2008:<\/strong> Rick Astley himself rickrolled the Macy&#8217;s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York by surprising viewers with a live performance on a float, often called the biggest rickroll of all.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Famous_rickrolls\"><\/span>Famous rickrolls<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>2008:<\/strong> fans voted the song as the New York Mets&#8217; rally song with millions of write-in votes, and Astley won MTV Europe&#8217;s &#8220;Best Act Ever&#8221; award through an online campaign.<\/li>\n<li><strong>2011:<\/strong> the official White House Twitter account posted a rickroll link during a live chat.<\/li>\n<li><strong>2015:<\/strong> hacker group Anonymous flooded extremist hashtags with rickroll links.<\/li>\n<li><strong>July 2021:<\/strong> the official music video passed one billion views on YouTube, and Astley called the milestone &#8220;mind-blowing&#8221;.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Google itself has a long history of jokes; see our list of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/top-google-april-fools-day-pranks\/\">best Google April Fools pranks<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_rickroll_someone_kindly\"><\/span>How to rickroll someone (kindly)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Pick the moment:<\/strong> April Fools&#8217; Day, a group chat or a friend who keeps asking for a spoiler.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Disguise the link:<\/strong> share it with a believable description, or put it behind a button or QR code. Avoid using link shorteners that hide the destination in work or school settings.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keep it harmless:<\/strong> never use pop-ups that trap people, fake security warnings or links in emergency or support conversations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be ready to be rickrolled back:<\/strong> it&#8217;s part of the fun.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_rickrolling_is_still_funny\"><\/span>Why rickrolling is still funny<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Rickrolling works because it&#8217;s a harmless bait-and-switch with a song that is impossible to dislike for long. Rick Astley, who at first called the craze &#8220;bizarre&#8221;, has embraced it, and his daughter reportedly told him the joke wasn&#8217;t about him. In 2008 we got stuck in an aggressive rickroll on one blogger&#8217;s April Fools page that opened endless pop-up windows until we had to close the browser from Task Manager. That is exactly what not to do: the best rickrolls end with a laugh, not a frozen computer. If you like light pranks, try our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/11\/funny-computer-pranks\/\">harmless computer pranks<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_changed_since_2008\"><\/span>What changed since 2008<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When this post was written, rickrolling had just exploded across blogs on April Fools&#8217; Day 2008 and many of us were new to it. Since then it has become one of the longest-lasting internet memes, moved from blogs to social media, QR codes and video games, and the official video has passed a billion views. The original embedded video link and the dead TechCrunch report have been replaced with the official video link.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_does_%E2%80%9Crickrolled%E2%80%9D_mean\"><\/span>What does &#8220;rickrolled&#8221; mean?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It means you clicked a disguised link and ended up watching Rick Astley&#8217;s &#8220;Never Gonna Give You Up&#8221; video.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"When_did_rickrolling_start\"><\/span>When did rickrolling start?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In May 2007 on 4chan, growing out of an earlier &#8220;duckroll&#8221; joke from 2006.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_many_views_does_%E2%80%9CNever_Gonna_Give_You_Up%E2%80%9D_have\"><\/span>How many views does &#8220;Never Gonna Give You Up&#8221; have?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The official video passed one billion YouTube views in July 2021 and keeps growing.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_rickrolling_harmful\"><\/span>Is rickrolling harmful?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>No, as long as the link simply opens the video. Avoid tricks that trap people with pop-ups or look like security warnings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rickrolling is the internet prank where you share a link that looks useful or exciting, but it actually opens Rick&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":68500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[95],"class_list":["post-3019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","tag-videos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3019"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68503,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3019\/revisions\/68503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}