Every meme worth knowing, and how to use it without getting burnt.

"I'm so sorry" (the edit confession)

A photo slideshow starts with a flattering shot, then each slide reveals what was edited, ending on the real version and an apology.

August 2026, surged in October around costumes (Know Your Meme).

In Australia: Australian use not verified: we found no Australian brand or press use, and we can't search inside TikTok or Instagram.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): Your "real" photo must look like what customers actually get (ACL). Never use offensive material. Get staff's written OK first; they can change their mind any time.

First noted Oct 2026 · Sources: Know Your Meme explainer

"Look up"

Shoppers noticed squishy toys stuck to Kmart ceilings and told everyone to look up. A small mystery anyone can join.

Shared on Reddit, reported 16 Oct 2026 (Yahoo Lifestyle AU).

In Australia: One national lifestyle outlet; Kmart hadn't commented.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): Don't stick things on anyone else's property or encourage people to.

First noted 16 Oct 2026 · Sources: Yahoo Lifestyle AU

"While they're out partying BTW"

The caption sits over a video of a weirdly specific skill. The current wave is mostly burger-wrapping, which makes it a natural fit for food businesses.

A TikTok creator, December 2025; surged again in Sept–Oct 2026 (Know Your Meme). No official brand use found; Know Your Meme cites creator clips (one tagging a fast-food chain) and a burger shop.

In Australia: Australian use not verified: we found no Australian brand or press use, and we can't search inside TikTok or Instagram.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): Low risk. Keep it playful.

First noted Oct 2026 · Sources: Know Your Meme explainer

Getting robbed (too busy on my phone)

Someone is so absorbed in their phone that they don't notice their bag being taken behind them. The joke is what you'd be too distracted to notice.

Original sound credited by Later.

In Australia: Australian use not verified: we found no Australian brand or press use, and we can't search inside TikTok or Instagram.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): Keep it obviously staged. Never use real CCTV or real customers. Get staff's written OK first; they can change their mind any time.

First noted Oct 2026 · Sources: Later, Reels trends Later, TikTok trends

My reaction to ___

Rating something with facial expressions only, over three to five rounds where the number keeps going up.

Original audio, unnamed creator (Later).

In Australia: Australian use not verified: we found no Australian brand or press use, and we can't search inside TikTok or Instagram.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): Low risk. Check the audio is available to business accounts, or go silent.

First noted Oct 2026 · Sources: Later, TikTok trends New Engen, Instagram trends

2013 vs now

Nostalgia for 2013 (flash mobs, early Instagram filters) is being used to make today look easier, led by a big food-delivery campaign.

Uber Eats' "Phew" campaign, launched 14 Sep 2026.

In Australia: A national brand campaign.

Hold the salt (watch out): Old prices must be real and dated, with no was/now or "saving" claim. Don't copy the campaign's own words ("Phew", "BUE").

First noted 14 Sep 2026 · Sources: Uber Newsroom

Message from -A

An on-screen anonymous "text" teases a secret and is signed "-A" (the Pretty Little Liars device), then the video pays it off.

Pretty Little Liars' anonymous texter.

In Australia: Australian use not verified: we found no Australian brand or press use, and we can't search inside TikTok or Instagram.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): The show and its audio belong to the studio: text only, no clips or theme music.

First noted Oct 2026 · Sources: Later, TikTok trends New Engen, Instagram trends

Petty "wedge issues" debates

A US cheese brand's campaign made its mascot stop laughing over petty arguments (thermostats, subtitles), and fans posted their own petty debates.

The Laughing Cow (Bel Brands USA), Sept–Oct 2026.

In Australia: Australian use not verified: we found no Australian brand or press use, and we can't search inside TikTok or Instagram.

Hold the salt (watch out): Use the debate format only: not the cow, the hashtag or Bel's branding.

First noted Sep 2026 · Sources: Dexerto

Pumpkin head illusion

A camera trick: a pumpkin held near the lens lines up with someone dancing further back, so they look like they have a pumpkin head. No audio needed.

No single creator credited.

In Australia: Australian use not verified: we found no Australian brand or press use, and we can't search inside TikTok or Instagram.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): Low risk. Don't film customers or kids without consent. Get staff's written OK first; they can change their mind any time.

First noted Oct 2026 · Sources: New Engen, October TikTok trends

Ramalama costume walk

The shot starts low on the feet, then a slow strut towards the camera reveals the full Halloween costume. It ends on 31 October.

Set to Róisín Murphy's "Ramalama (Bang Bang)"; a 2025 Halloween trend that came back in 2026.

In Australia: Australian use not verified: we found no Australian brand or press use, and we can't search inside TikTok or Instagram.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): Commercial song: business accounts may not have it, and it can't go in ads. Halloween is smaller here than in the US.

First noted Oct 2026 · Sources: New Engen, Halloween trends

Things you should definitely ghost

Someone in a white-sheet ghost costume holds up signs listing habits to "ghost" (drop). Works as a Reel or a carousel.

Builds on the sheet-ghost photoshoot trend.

In Australia: Australian use not verified: we found no Australian brand or press use, and we can't search inside TikTok or Instagram.

Hold the salt (watch out): Keep the signs about habits, not about kinds of customers.

First noted Oct 2026 · Sources: New Engen, Instagram trends

Two Fishes (the confident defence)

Put a questionable take on screen, then face the camera and defend it with total, deadpan confidence, as if the argument were airtight.

Audio from a Love Island USA contestant (New Engen, Oct 2026).

In Australia: Australian use not verified: we found no Australian brand or press use, and we can't search inside TikTok or Instagram.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): The original audio is a reality-TV contestant's voice from network footage. Use your own voice.

First noted Oct 2026 · Sources: New Engen, October TikTok trends

"Is that AI?"

Viewers called a TV promo's goldfish AI slop. Network 10 said the performers were real and only the backgrounds were CGI. Either way, Australians are quick to call out anything that looks AI-made.

Big Brother Australia 2026 promo, 9 Sep 2026.

In Australia: Pedestrian.TV covered the network's response.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): If you do use AI images, say so. Pretending AI work is real is a fast way to lose trust (and can mislead under the ACL).

First noted 9 Sep 2026 · Sources: Pedestrian.TV

"Why do Aussie cafés close at 2pm?"

A complaint visitors keep posting about Australian cafés shutting by 2 or 3pm, and the café owners who answer it on camera with their real reasons.

No single creator; it resurfaced in October 2026 after a US visitor's post about the Gold Coast.

In Australia: Covered by Yahoo Lifestyle AU (12 Oct 2026).

Hold the salt (watch out): Don't stitch anyone's complaint video or mock tourists. Only quote cost figures you can back up.

First noted 12 Oct 2026 · Sources: Yahoo Lifestyle AU

Green-banana spring

A banana shortage at Coles and Woolworths has people swapping tips for ripening green bunches. More a moment than a meme.

Reported 22 Oct 2026.

In Australia: Supermarket signs and statements.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): Don't blame a supplier or supermarket, and don't claim shortages you haven't checked. Skip it if bad weather or cyclones have hurt growers or people near you.

First noted 22 Oct 2026 · Sources: Yahoo Lifestyle AU

Queensland's cow time

Every October the southern states start daylight saving and Queensland doesn't, which brings back the joke that it would confuse the cows and fade the curtains.

Folk joke tied to Queensland's 1992 referendum, retold every year.

In Australia: Clock change on 4 October 2026 (NSW, Vic, Tas, SA, ACT).

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): Keep it friendly, not political. Don't quote survey numbers without the original study.

First noted Every October · Sources: The Nightly

"One more year!"

After Brisbane's AFL three-peat, a clip of coach Chris Fagan riding on a player's shoulders went viral, and at the next day's fan day supporters chanted "one more year" at him.

Brisbane Lions celebrations, 26–27 Sep 2026 (AFL.com.au).

In Australia: AFL and Brisbane Lions channels.

Hold the salt (watch out): No footage, club logos or the coach's image.

First noted 26 Sep 2026 · Sources: AFL.com.au

"We're all just blocking the street"

A marching-band song about blocking the street under captions about annoying crowds: concert exits, school pick-up.

A Family Guy cutaway, reposted to TikTok in 2026 (Know Your Meme).

In Australia: Australian use not verified: we found no Australian brand or press use, and we can't search inside TikTok or Instagram.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): The clip and song are studio IP. Don't mock customers in the queue.

First noted Sep 2026 · Sources: Know Your Meme roundup

"You're blatantly just not me nan"

A line for calling out an obvious imposter, from the wolf-in-grandma's-bed scene; the latest wave is dogs dressed as nans.

A UK TikTok comedy skit from June 2025, back in August 2026 (Know Your Meme).

In Australia: Australian use not verified: we found no Australian brand or press use, and we can't search inside TikTok or Instagram.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): The sound is a creator's original audio. Pets in costume are fine; don't make real older customers the joke.

First noted Aug 2026 · Sources: Know Your Meme

AI Rumpelstiltskin "Tip Toein'" dance

An AI-made fake-1980s clip of an imp dancing to a rap track became a template people remix or recreate.

AI creator accounts on Instagram, late August 2026 (Know Your Meme).

In Australia: Australian use not verified: we found no Australian brand or press use, and we can't search inside TikTok or Instagram.

Hold the salt (watch out): Copyrighted song; the AI clip's rights are unclear. People are already tired of it.

First noted Aug 2026 · Sources: Know Your Meme

Black Cat Clapping

An AI-generated black cat with a human smile slowly claps, used as sarcastic applause for a fail.

Posted by an Instagram creator on 25 Sep 2026 (Know Your Meme).

In Australia: Australian use not verified: we found no Australian brand or press use, and we can't search inside TikTok or Instagram.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): The clip is a creator's work, so don't reuse it. Clap for good behaviour, not to mock customers.

First noted Sep 2026 · Sources: Know Your Meme

Calling it too early

Celebrating before the result is in, then getting the reverse card. It took off after the AFL Grand Final on 26 September, when Fremantle started its "Wharfie Time" chant with a 17-point lead and Brisbane kicked the last four goals to win by seven.

Fremantle's crowd chant; a Lions player called the comeback the "Uno reverse card" (AAP).

In Australia: National footy coverage and fan meme pages; no brand use we could verify.

No brand example we could verify yet.

Hold the salt (watch out): The AFL has reportedly sought a trademark on "Wharfie Time" (press reports, not checked on the register). Skip the phrase, the AC/DC song, AFL and club marks, and any "AFL Grand Final" branding.

First noted 26 Sep 2026 · Sources: Newcastle Herald / AAP

Shoot your shot (in the comments)

Asking publicly for something you want and keeping the bit going. An AFLW player's Instagram comment to Kylie Minogue, followed by song titles slipped into press conferences with her club's social team, ended with her meeting Kylie in Grand Final week.

GWS player Georgia Garnett and the GWS Giants' social team, ending 24–26 Sep 2026.

In Australia: Spread mostly through AFL and club channels.

Hold the salt (watch out): Only aim at organisations that will play along, never private people. Don't imply a celebrity backs you.

First noted Sep 2026 · Sources: AFL.com.au

The cryptic billboard countdown

Unbranded billboards and lights with only numbers and clues appeared in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne from 6–7 October, and fans speculated for days before Powderfinger confirmed a 2027 reunion tour.

Powderfinger's own campaign, from 6–7 Oct 2026.

In Australia: National music and culture press.

Hold the salt (watch out): No band name, song titles or lyrics.

First noted 6 Oct 2026 · Sources: Pedestrian.TV