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'Laurel or Yanny' just took a super dark turn thanks to the U.S. Air Force

Well, that was fun while it lasted.

Marcus Gilmer

on May 17, 2018

'Laurel or Yanny' just took a super dark turn thanks to the U.S. Air Force

The U.S. Air Force just shot down all our "Laurel or Yanny" fun Credit: Getty Images

Nothing lasts forever and no meme goes untarnished.

On Thursday morning, the U.S. Air Force jumped on the never-ending "Laurel or Yanny" meme and took it to a really dark place, proving memes and military action just don't mix.

The social media minds behind the U.S. Air Force Twitter account decided to employ the hotly-debated two names in a tweet bragging about fighter jets providing air support to repress a Taliban offensive.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

By 1:30 p.m. the USAF had deleted and issued an apology.

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But it was a bit too late as the tweet had long since gone viral.

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The link included in the now-deleted tweet was for a story about Air Force air support efforts to prevent Taliban forces from overtaking Farah city which... is a long way off from the light-hearted debate that ensued over "Laurel or Yanny."

Many on Twitter agreed.

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No, not even the social media masters of the armed forces are immune to the backlash of a jokey misfire.

Then again, maybe our own Chris Taylor was right all along: the memes are just here to divide us.

What a time to be alive.

UPDATE: May 17, 2018, 1:53 p.m. EDT Updated to replace deleted original tweet with a screenshot and add USAF apology.

Topics Memes

Marcus Gilmer

Marcus Gilmer is Mashable's Assistant Real-Times News Editor on the West Coast, reporting on breaking news from his location in San Francisco. An Alabama native, Marcus earned his BA from Birmingham-Southern College and his MFA in Communications from the University of New Orleans. Marcus has previously worked for Chicagoist, The A.V. Club, the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.