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Listenbourg

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Listenbourg
Fictional country Listenbourg map.[1][2][3]
Listenbourg flag[4]
Created byGaspard Hoelscher[4][5]
Based onA joke to test the stereotype of Americans supposedly having a lack of knowledge of European geography[6]
GenreHumorous internet meme
In-universe information
TypeFictional country
LocationIberian Peninsula, Europe
LocationsLurenberg (capital). Fluẞerde, Kusterde, Mitteland, Adrias, Caséière (regions).
CharactersGaspardo (president)
Population= 59,000,000[2][7]

Listenbourg is a fictional country at the edge of the Iberian Peninsula, created as the subject of an internet meme in October 2022.[1][2][3] French Twitter user Gaspard Hoelscher shared a doctored map of Europe with a red arrow pointing to the outline of a pasted country adjacent to Portugal and Spain, and joked that Americans would not be able to name the country. [8] [6][9]

The nonexistent nation went viral on social networks, with some major brands, national politicians and official organisations playing along with the joke.[10]

Origin

Europe with and without Listenbourg. Comparison between creation at the left and reality at the right.

The trend started in France as an innocuous meme intended to trick Americans, who are stereotypically poor at European geography.[4][11] On October 30, 2022, Gaspard Hoelscher, known as Gaspardo on Twitter,[4][5] shared a photoshopped map of Europe with a slab of land attached to the Iberian peninsula, implying this was an EU member state.[9] The post was captioned: "I'm sure Americans don't even know the name of this country." Another user instantly countered, "Who does not know Listenbourg?", giving the hoax its name.[3][12][13]

The country's name has been described as sounding like a blend of "Luxembourg" with "Lithuania" or "Liechtenstein".[3][14]

Viral spread

Social media users quickly banded together to catapult the fiction into the spotlight.[6] Dozens of Twitter accounts allegedly representing Listenbourg government institutions arose in a few days, and a rush began to invent a capital, flag, history, national anthem and culture.[15][12][2]

Five regions: Fluẞerde, Kusterde, Mitteland, Adrias and Caséière, in Listenbourg. The capital is named Lurenberg.[12]
Plausible buildings generated by DALL-E deep learning AI model from the prompt "Listenbourg".[3]

Additional credibility comes from the involvement of large, verified social media handles, and the creation of professionally edited satellite maps.[5] Participants in the joke attempted to flesh out Listenbourg's existence with detailed social media threads. Collaborative actions established that the country was split up into five regions called Fluẞerde, Kusterde, Mitteland, Adrias and Caséière.[12][16] The population was said to be 59 million.[2][7] The meme's originator, Gaspardo, was proclaimed president of Listenbourg.[2][1][10]

It was noted that the DALL-E artificial intelligence program generated European-style buildings when given the word "Listenbourg" as a prompt.[3]

In November, the nonexistent country gained so much traction that it was trending on Twitter. The TikTok hashtag #Listenbourg has garnered more than 75 million views.[1][3][10][11]

Responses

On October 31, 2022, the official Paris 2024 Olympics channel tweeted: "The number of Olympic delegations has risen from 206 to 207 with the arrival of Listenbourg".[15][2][17][5] Amazon Prime Video announced that a report on the history of Listenbourg would be released on "31 February".[11][10] Ryanair published the viral map, writing, "Proud to be announcing our new base in Listenbourg!"[3][10][12][11] The French television network TF1 tried to trick people by presenting a realistic weather report for the imaginary country.[3][18][14] Toulouse Football Club got involved in the meme, saying its team was going to a training camp in the fictional nation.[19][2][20] The joke also reached the Formula 1 Grand Prix, with the Canal+ Sport (French TV channel) supporting the sham state.[5][15][12][9] On November 1, 2022, the GPS navigation software Waze weighed in too, writing "At least we know how to get there!"[3][17] French politician Jean Lassalle pretended to have visited an agricultural festival in Listenbourg.[12][7] The real city of Nice announced a twinning with the Listenbourg's capital, while its official airport inaugurated a new air link to the extra chunk of land.[10][21] Other brands and organisations that played the game include the ski resort of La Clusaz,[2][14] the British online food delivery Deliveroo, the restaurant chain Buffalo Grill,[2] the Parisian transportation operator RATP Group,[22] the high-speed TGV trains of the National society of French railroads[22] and the French national hockey team.[5][9][3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Rosenblatt, Kalhan (5 November 2022). "Listenbourg is the hottest country on social media right now. The catch? It doesn't exist". NBC News. New York City. Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bremner, Charles (2 November 2022). "Où est Le Listenbourg? French have fun with fictional country". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bywater, Thomas (8 November 2022). "Listenbourg: What is it? And why is Ryanair promoting this imaginary EU country?". The New Zealand Herald. Auckland. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Al Mustaqeem, Syraat (4 November 2022). "What is 'Listenbourg'? The new EU country going viral". Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 15 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Anwesha, Mitra (5 November 2022). "What is Listenbourg? All you need to know about 'new EU country' going viral on Twitter". Times Now. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 15 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Buzz Staff (3 November 2022). "Listenbourg is at the Centre Of a Meme Storm, Here's Why". CNN-News18. New Delhi. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Le Parisien (2 November 2022). "Le Listenbourg : ce nouveau pays qui fait le tour de Twitter" [The Listenbourg: this new country that is making the rounds on Twitter]. Le Parisien (in French). Paris. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  8. ^ @gaspardooo (30 October 2022). "Je suis sûr que les américains ne connaissent même pas le nom de ce pays ptdrrr" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ a b c d Brezar, Aleksandar (4 November 2022). "What is Listenbourg? Why is it going viral on Twitter? Why did the meme become so big in Europe?". Euronews. Lyon. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Press-Reynolds, Kieran (4 November 2022). "The internet is going wild over Listenbourg, a fake country with a national anthem and TikTokers pretending to be its president". Insider Inc. New York City. Retrieved 25 November 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ a b c d Mannie, Kathryn (4 November 2022). "What is Listenbourg? The fake European country meant to fool Americans". Global News. Vancouver. Archived from the original on 15 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Thorpe, Genevieve (4 November 2022). "Internet unites behind the fictional nation of Listenbourg". The New Daily. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  13. ^ Losciale, Marisa (6 November 2022). "Listenbourg Is the Country Taking Social Media by Storm". Parade. United States. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  14. ^ a b c TF1 info (5 November 2022). "Quel temps fait-il au Listenbourg ? Découvrez dans le 20H de TF1, le bulletin météo de Tatiana Silva" [What's the weather like in Listenbourg? Discover in the 20H of TF1, the weather report of Tatiana Silva]. TF1 (in French). France. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ a b c PA/TPN (6 November 2022). "Imaginary country bordering Portugal comes to life on the internet". The Portugal News. Lagoa, Portugal. Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  16. ^ Le Figaro (3 November 2022). "Une journée de rêve au Listenbourg, la star montante de la péninsule ibérique" [A dream day at Listenbourg, the rising star of the Iberian Peninsula]. Le Figaro (in French). Paris. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  17. ^ a b Bain, Ellissa (4 November 2022). "Fake country 'Listenbourg' goes viral as France fools Twitter". HITC. England. Archived from the original on 6 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  18. ^ "Mais quel temps fait-il au Listenbourg ? Le bulletin météo de Tatiana Silva" [But what's the weather like in Listenbourg? Tatiana Silva's weather report]. TF1 (in French). France. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  19. ^ Brezar, Aleksandar (2 November 2022). "Fictional country Listenbourg takes Twitter by storm". Saudi Gazette. Jeddah. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  20. ^ Johnson, Stephen (8 November 2022). "11 Famous Places That Don't Really Exist – Listenbourg". Lifehacker. Archived from the original on 15 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  21. ^ Redaction Nice (4 November 2022). "Les Niçois pourront bientôt s'envoler vers le Listenbourg... ce drôle de pays inventé sur Twitter" [The people of Nice will soon be able to fly to Listenbourg... this strange country invented on Twitter]. Actu.fr (in French). Rennes, France. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  22. ^ a b Rousset, Tom (3 November 2022). ""Paris-Listenbourg en 4h27" : quand des comptes Twitter parisiens s'emparent du buzz autour d'un pays fictif" ["Paris-Listenburg in 4:27": when Parisian Twitter accounts seize the buzz around a fictional country]. France Info (TV channel) (in French). Paris. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
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