Rickroll
The internet's most legendary bait-and-switch — Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up' disguised as something else.
Tricking someone into clicking a disguised link that plays Rick Astley's 1987 hit 'Never Gonna Give You Up.' The joke is the surprise of the redirect, not the content.
History
Evolved from 'duckrolling' on 4chan, where misleading links led to an image of a duck on wheels. In May 2007, users on 4chan's /v/ board replaced the duck with Rick Astley's 1987 music video for 'Never Gonna Give You Up,' creating the first rickroll. The prank jumped to YouTube URL bait and became a permanent internet habit — Wikipedia notes Astley later leaned into the meme, including a 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade appearance that effectively rickrolled live TV audiences.
Cultural scores
Editorial estimates of cultural weight — Current Popularity tracks how much people are posting about this now, not historical fame.
Current Popularity = how actively people are posting about this today. Influence = lasting footprint. Cringe = online reception. Brainrot = absurdist energy. Scores last reviewed 2026-07-25. How scoring works
Timeline
Jul 1987
'Never Gonna Give You Up' released — reaches #1 in the UK
May 2007
First documented rickroll appears on 4chan's /v/ board
Nov 2008
Rick Astley performs at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in disguise, rickrolling millions on live TV
Jul 2021
Astley's official YouTube upload of the video surpasses 1 billion views — a late victory lap for the meme
2012+
Rickrolling becomes a permanent fixture of internet culture — never truly dies
Examples
- “Click here for the patch notes [it's a rickroll].”
- “You've been rickrolled — you knew it was coming.”
- “Did you know rickrolling started as 'duckrolling' on 4chan before Rick Astley?”
Media
The official music video — the unsuspecting destination of every rickroll since 2007.
Related entries
Culturally linked — not random recommendations.
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References
Sources behind this entry. Prefer primary reporting and established culture archives over rumor.
- Rickrolling — Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org