How bizarre fish ‘experiment’ videos from China hijacked the internet’s worst impulses

Most of the hundreds of “LabGerm” videos posted and reposted to social media in recent weeks start out the same way: A pair of gloved hands appears against a white backdrop as an AI-generated voice narrates, and upbeat music plays in the background.

Most of the hundreds of “LabGerm” videos posted and reposted to social media in recent weeks start out the same way: A pair of gloved hands appears against a white backdrop as an AI-generated voice narrates and upbeat music plays in the background.

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In the foreground, a fish undergoes a torturous “experiment.” Some of the videos appear to have been made entirely or at least in part with AI, while others seem to show real animals in distress. None offer any sort of finding or conclusion. The shocking nature of the content appears to be the point.

These videos, posted by dozens of accounts across TikTok, Instagram and Facebook from Chinese social media, have amassed millions of views and become notorious across the internet, sparking outrage that has only seemed to fuel their spread — a phenomenon now commonly called “rage bait.” The videos — and even the term “LabGerm” — have spawned their own small internet niche of reaction videos, discussion, bizarre memes and even merch.