Скачать или смотреть Why the "Nihilist Penguin" Trend Is Going Viral?

A short clip of a lone penguin from Werner Herzog’s 2007 documentary Encounters at the End of the World has become a viral social media trend called the "Nihilist Penguin." The scene shows a penguin leaving its colony and walking toward the icy mountains in Antarctica, a path experts say leads away from food and life.

The trend drew global attention on January 23, 2026, when the official White House account shared an AI image of President Donald Trump walking with the penguin and the caption "Embrace the Penguin." The post was widely criticized because penguins live in the South Pole (Antarctica), while Greenland is in the North (Arctic), where penguins do not live.
On TikTok and Instagram, millions of users share the video with sad music and philosophical quotes. Many people see the penguin as a symbol of burnout, silent rebellion, or a futile journey that reflects feelings of loneliness and mental exhaustion. Psychologists say the trend shows how many modern people identify with the lonely bird seeking silence away from the crowd.

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