A Woman Went Viral On Twitter For Learning That Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim Exists

Perhaps its the pure boredom of life in quarantine or the evolution of wild right-wing conspiracy theories that has everyone searching for vast conspiracies these days. The latest, which cropped up this weekend and went viral on Twitter, is that Cartoon Network has a programming block called Adult Swim.

A woman, known on Twitter as @soonergurl74, posted on Saturday night a video she found highly offensive because it appeared on the usually kid-friendly Cartoon Network. She claimed the video was of “witches abusing babies” and part of a widespread campaign to trick children into watching disturbing images. The clip was from the networks’ late-night block of Adult Swim content, which is usually rated TV-14 or above and has existed since since 2001.

Adult Swim isn’t new, though its hours have extended in recent years to begin at 8 p.m. and run until 6 a.m. The block has been a showcase for a lot of adult animation, including Rick and Morty. It’s existed for decades, and the idea that it is an attempt to subvert the thinking of children is pretty silly. The name of the block is a reference to the very idea that children should be out of the proverbial pool, and there’s a content warning played between the block’s infamous bumps that reminds people that children should not be watching.

https://twitter.com/Teknoh2/status/1284832619453087744

A second tweet, which went out when a lot of people pointed out that Adult Swim is A Thing and has been A Thing for A While, doubled down on what she believed to be a vast conspiracy at play at Williams Street in Atlanta, saying in part “when the darkness is exposed, the demons start panicking.”

https://twitter.com/ArchonOf/status/1284652582615515138

The moment drew a lot of reaction online, especially from people who know that sometimes cartoons are made with adults in mind.

https://twitter.com/Justincookin/status/1284805142932606979

https://twitter.com/MisAnthroPony/status/1284811808927293440

https://twitter.com/Nyleah8/status/1284820018446733317

https://twitter.com/zenoisrandomYT/status/1284813717671153665

As many pointed out, it’s not like “Cartoon Network after 8 p.m.” is the only place you can get adult animation these days, either.

https://twitter.com/LosSantosA2TMFK/status/1284873103592628225

It’s a funny viral moment because a woman overreacted when learning about the existence of Adult Swim, sure, but it also goes to show just how small, coincidental things can quickly get blown out of proportion and into something much greater if people aren’t careful. Just last week the home goods company Wayfair became the subject of a viral conspiracy that children were being trafficked in expensive cabinetry that coincidently shared names with people. Believers in the Qanon conspiracy theory — which states that leading Democrats are part of a worldwide cabal of child predators and sex traffickers — are currently running for congress. The woman whose tweet went viral has a Qanon hashtag in the bio of her now-protected account, so it’s clear she’s into this kind of thing and believed she stumbled upon the next big conspiracy. It’s a slippery slope, and it really is as simple as someone not knowing a thing exists and then wildly grafting the pieces together to will something into existence.

If Adult Swim really is part of a vast conspiracy, though, the least they could do is get us some new episodes of Home Movies.