Looks like a normal teen’s bedroom, right? Think again. Coming up on @KMOV, we’ll show you what parents should be looking for so they can identify signs of drug use. I was shocked at what I found in this room!!! #stl #n4tm pic.twitter.com/Df2yegDPUq
— Paige Hulsey (@paigehulsey) June 24, 2021
What started as a news report on drugs has quickly turned into a viral meme on Twitter.
KMOV news reporter Paige Hulsey tweeted early Thursday morning about her story of the day: An expose set in a "normal teen's bedroom" that would show parents the various places where their kid could hide drugs.
To be clear, KMOV and Hulsey didn't construct the questionably accessorized den of a supposed teen drug user: The bedroom was actually staged by local nonprofit Addiction is Real in the St. Louis DEA headquarters, as Hulsey pointed out in later tweets.
But the notion that a "normal teen" lived in the bedroom was beyond the collective belief of Twitter, and users quickly caught hold of the image and have not let it go since. The Twittersphere is on fire with creativity, remixing and replying to Hulsey’s original tweet. With over 9,000 quote tweets and “Mile 420” trending nationally, the jokes keep coming.
Looks like a normal teen’s bedroom, right? Think again. Coming up on @KMOV, we’ll show you what parents should be looking for so they can identify signs of drug use. I was shocked at what I found in this room!!! #stl #n4tm https://t.co/lJcL7wH2h8 pic.twitter.com/hlU9X7xxvl
— Jake Villarreal 🏳️🌈 (@JakeLovesSTL) June 24, 2021
The reimagining of the "teenager's room" seems to be one of the most popular memes.
One user claimed to know how to stop the fake teen’s spiral into drug use.Looks like a normal teen’s bedroom, right? Think again. Coming up on @KMOV, we’ll show you what parents should be looking for so they can identify signs of drug use. I was shocked at what I found in this room!!! #stl #n4tm pic.twitter.com/GCtkknajev
— Alan Scherstuhl (@studiesincrap) June 24, 2021
Others wanted to take the mystery out of the viral room.I simply would have provided my teen a bedframe, thereby stopping their descent into drug crime pic.twitter.com/LVtsH1jYiB
— Trapp God 🏴 (@CapnTrapn) June 24, 2021
The post even reached national journalists, including Washington Post "TikTok Guy" Dave Jorgenson.The tie dyed backdrop? That's made of weed. The fill light? Weed. That sign that says "Mile 420"? Actually, that's just aluminum. Anyway, if you lift the mattress, you'll see the stairway that takes you to the underground meth lab. https://t.co/x26brADk0P
— Hank Scorpio (@the_bont_the) June 24, 2021
Social media stars couldn't stay away, either.submitting this as a blueprint for a tiktok studio when we go back to the office pic.twitter.com/pdVeGlxMZq
— Washington Post TikTok Guy (@davejorgenson) June 24, 2021
To be fair, Hulsey was quick to defend her tweet after it began taking off. Replying to one user’s criticism, the reporter pointed out that she mentioned the room was staged in her broadcast that morning, and she was shocked not by the room but also by “the places people easily hide drugs.” Hulsey later tweeted she thought topics like gun control, abortion, climate change and COVID-19 vaccines were more controversial. She added: "Boy was I wrong! Stay away from talking about tampons as hiding places for counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl."Hey teens™️ do y’all have a stack of physical magazines in your room? No? We aren’t in 2004? Ok https://t.co/cEcoaOAj51
— mac kahey (@MacDoesIt) June 24, 2021
She said on Twitter the segment was supposed to be about the high rate of drug overdoses and problems with fentanyl — not weed. The actual segment is not available on KMOV's website yet, but a behind-the-scenes look can be found on Hulsey’s Facebook.
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