Listenbourg Explained

Listenbourg
Based On:A joke to test the stereotype of Americans having a lack of knowledge of European geography
Creator:Gaspard Hoelscher
Type:Fictional country
Located In:Iberian Peninsula, Europe
Locations:Lurenberg (capital)
Fluẞerde, Kusterde, Mitteland, Adrias, Caséière (regions)
Characters:Gaspardo (president)
Genre:Humorous internet meme
Population:59,000,000

Listenbourg is a fictional country created as the subject of an internet meme in October 2022, which depicts it as an extension of the Iberian Peninsula.[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.[4] [5] [6]

The nonexistent nation went viral on social networks, with users expanding on the fictional history of the country and some major brands, national politicians, and official organisations playing along with the joke.[7]

Origin

The trend started as an internet meme posted by a French Twitter user intending to test the stereotype of Americans having a poor grasp of European geography.[8] [9]

On October 30, 2022, Gaspard Hoelscher, known as @gaspardooo on Twitter, shared a photoshopped map of Europe with an additional landmass attached to the Iberian peninsula. The post was captioned: "" . Another user responded with the rhetorical question "", giving the hoax its name.[10] [11]

The country's name has been described as sounding like a blend of "Luxembourg" with "Lithuania" and/or "Liechtenstein".[12] Listenbourg's outline is that of mainland France, resized and rotated.

Viral spread

The joke became a viral phenomenon with other Twitter users offering invented facts about the country, doctored photographs and satellite maps purporting to show aspects of it. Dozens of Twitter accounts claiming to represent Listenbourg government institutions arose in a few days, and people invented a capital, flag, history, national anthem, culture and language for the fictional country.[13]

Several large, verified social media handles joined in on the joke.[14] 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.[15] The population was said to be 59 million.[16] The meme's originator, Gaspardo, was proclaimed president of Listenbourg, although he admitted his prank totally overwhelmed him.[17]

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

In November, the nonexistent country was trending on Twitter, and the TikTok hashtag #Listenbourg had more than 75 million views.

Responses

Major organizations and news channels played along with the hoax, although most of them made clear they were not being serious.

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".[18]

Amazon Prime Video announced that a report on the history of Listenbourg would be released on the impossible date of "February 31".

The low-cost carrier Ryanair published the viral map, writing that they were "Proud to be announcing our new base in Listenbourg!"

The French television network TF1 presented a realistic weather report for the imaginary country.[19]

Toulouse Football Club said its team was going to a training camp in the fictional nation.[20] [21] The prank also reached the Formula 1 Grand Prix, with the Canal+ Sport supporting the sham state.

On November 1, 2022, the GPS navigation software company Waze posted in French a tweet of .

French politician Jean Lassalle pretended to have visited an agricultural festival in Listenbourg.

The French city of Nice announced a twinning with Listenbourg's capital, while its official airport inaugurated a new air link to the extra chunk of land.[22]

Other brands and organisations that posted about Listenbourg include the ski resort of La Clusaz,[23] the British online food delivery Deliveroo, the restaurant chain Buffalo Grill, the Parisian transportation operator RATP Group,[24] the high-speed TGV trains of the SNCF and the French national hockey team.

See also

References

  1. News: Rosenblatt . Kalhan . 5 November 2022 . Listenbourg is the hottest country on social media right now. The catch? It doesn't exist. . live . . New York City . https://web.archive.org/web/20221124113543/https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/listenbourg-hottest-country-social-media-right-now-catch-doesnt-exist-rcna55678 . 2022-11-24 . 2022-11-25.
  2. News: Bremner . Charles . 2 November 2022 . Où est Le Listenbourg? French have fun with fictional country . live . . London . https://web.archive.org/web/20221104001401/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ou-est-listenbourg-french-have-fun-with-fictional-country-6pz26wmxx . 2022-11-04 . 2022-11-25.
  3. News: Bywater . Thomas . 8 November 2022 . Listenbourg: What is it? And why is Ryanair promoting this imaginary EU country? . live . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20221122032659/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/listenbourg-what-is-it-and-why-is-ryanair-promoting-this-imaginary-eu-country/XETSWV2TLICCR7RDCZWBABFCYE/ . 2022-11-22 . 2022-11-25.
  4. gaspardooo . 1586787427737280513 . Je suis sûr que les américains ne connaissent même pas le nom de ce pays ptdrrr. Oct 30, 2022.
  5. News: Buzz Staff . 3 November 2022 . Listenbourg is at the Centre Of a Meme Storm, Here's Why . live . . New Delhi . https://web.archive.org/web/20221104121338/https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/listenbourg-is-at-the-centre-of-a-meme-storm-heres-why-6301951.html . 2022-11-04 . 2022-11-25.
  6. News: Brezar . Aleksandar . 4 November 2022 . What is Listenbourg? Why is it going viral on Twitter? Why did the meme become so big in Europe? . live . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20221120042512/https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/11/02/what-is-listenbourg-why-is-it-going-viral-on-twitter-why-did-the-meme-become-so-big-in-eur . 2022-11-20 . 2022-11-25.
  7. News: 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 . . New York City . 2022-11-25.
  8. News: Al Mustaqeem . Syraat . 4 November 2022 . What is 'Listenbourg'? The new EU country going viral . live . . London . https://web.archive.org/web/20221115064012/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/what-is-listenbourg-new-eu-country-viral-b1037604.html . 2022-11-15 . 2022-11-25.
  9. News: Mannie . Kathryn . 4 November 2022 . What is Listenbourg? The fake European country meant to fool Americans . live . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20221115184941/https://globalnews.ca/news/9253575/what-is-listenbourg-fake-european-country/ . 2022-11-15 . 2022-11-25.
  10. News: Thorpe . Genevieve . 4 November 2022 . Internet unites behind the fictional nation of Listenbourg . live . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20221113215227/https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/good-news/2022/11/04/listenbourg-fake-country-meme/ . 2022-11-13 . 2022-11-25.
  11. News: Losciale . Marisa . 6 November 2022 . Listenbourg Is the Country Taking Social Media by Storm . live . . United States . https://web.archive.org/web/20221119114424/https://parade.com/news/listenbourg-european-country-real-or-fake . 2022-11-19 . 2022-11-25.
  12. News: 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 . fr . . France . 2022-11-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221126174750/https://www.tf1info.fr/high-tech/meteo-listenbourg-quel-temps-fait-il-au-listenbourg-decouvrez-le-bulletin-meteo-de-tatiana-silva-2237727.html . 2022-11-26.
  13. News: PA/TPN . 6 November 2022 . Imaginary country bordering Portugal comes to life on the internet . live . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20221124062415/https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2022-11-06/imaginary-country-bordering-portugal-comes-to-life-on-the-internet/71776 . 2022-11-24 . 2022-11-25.
  14. News: Anwesha . Mitra . 5 November 2022 . What is Listenbourg? All you need to know about 'new EU country' going viral on Twitter . live . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20221115115009/https://www.timesnownews.com/explainer/what-is-listenbourg-all-you-need-to-know-about-new-eu-country-going-viral-on-twitter-article-95314050 . 2022-11-15 . 2022-11-25.
  15. News: 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 . fr . . Paris . 2022-11-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221127002653/https://www.lefigaro.fr/voyages/une-journee-de-reve-au-listenbourg-la-star-montante-de-la-peninsule-iberique-20221103 . 2022-11-27.
  16. News: 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 . fr . . Paris . 2022-11-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221112145609/https://www.leparisien.fr/high-tech/le-listenbourg-ce-nouveau-pays-qui-fait-le-tour-de-twitter-02-11-2022-QMXQZBYMRBE5ZHBB4OWYOW4V6E.php . 2022-11-12.
  17. News: 4 November 2022 . Le créateur du Listenbourg explique son canular: "La blague m'a totalement dépassée" . The creator of Listenbourg explains his hoax: "The joke totally overwhelmed me". fr . . Brussels, Belgium . 2023-01-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221110193834/https://www.lalibre.be/international/europe/2022/11/04/le-createur-du-listenbourg-explique-son-canular-la-blague-ma-totalement-depassee-B2GPRATIGNA2XADD3VPUHCRR4Q/ . 2022-11-10.
  18. News: Bain . Ellissa . 4 November 2022 . Fake country 'Listenbourg' goes viral as France fools Twitter . live . . England . https://web.archive.org/web/20221106183118/https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2022/11/04/fake-country-listenbourg-goes-viral-as-france-fools-twitter/ . 2022-11-06 . 2022-11-25.
  19. News: . 5 November 2022 . 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 . fr . . France . 2022-11-25.
  20. News: Brezar . Aleksandar . 2 November 2022 . Fictional country Listenbourg takes Twitter by storm . live . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20221112145706/https://www.saudigazette.com.sa/article/626599 . 2022-11-12 . 2022-11-25.
  21. News: Johnson . Stephen . 8 November 2022 . 11 Famous Places That Don't Really Exist – Listenbourg . live . . https://web.archive.org/web/20221115123018/https://lifehacker.com/11-famous-places-that-dont-really-exist-1849754301/slides/3 . 2022-11-15 . 2022-11-25.
  22. News: 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 . fr . Actu.fr . Rennes, France . 2022-11-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221104103505/https://actu.fr/provence-alpes-cote-d-azur/nice_06088/les-nicois-pourront-bientot-s-envoler-vers-le-listenbourg-ce-drole-de-pays-invente-sur-twitter_54968807.html . 2022-11-04.
  23. News: Bouchet . Stéphane . 2022-11-01 . La Clusaz jumelée avec une ville du Listenbourg : pourquoi il faut en rire... . La Clusaz twinned with a town in Listenbourg: why we should laugh about it... . fr . live . . Grenoble, France . https://web.archive.org/web/20230120024042/https://www.ledauphine.com/actualite/2022/11/01/la-clusaz-jumelee-avec-osatri-%28listenbourg%29-pourquoi-on-en-rit . 2023-01-20 . 2023-01-21.
  24. News: 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 . fr . . Paris . 2022-11-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221104194427/https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/paris-ile-de-france/paris/paris-listenbourg-en-4h27-quand-des-comptes-twitter-parisiens-s-emparent-du-buzz-autour-d-un-pays-fictif-2647772.html . 2022-11-04.