A Reddit user’s real brain scan was allegedly used in a familiar viral meme built around a completely fabricated story, racking up more than 10 million views and leaving the original poster stunned.
The image, first shared on Reddit about a year ago, recently resurfaced online attached to a dramatic narrative that had nothing to do with the person whose brain was actually scanned.
In a post to the subreddit r/mildlyinfuriating, the user Brooklynlikestories wrote, “This might be one of the funniest but WTF things that’s ever happened to me.”
Real brain scan, “some wack story”
In their post, they explained that someone had taken their brain scan photo from an earlier thread and paired it with “some wack story,” adding that it had gone massively viral.
They only learned about the meme after other users started tagging them and sending direct messages, pointing out that their brain scan was making the rounds across social media, along with a caption saying someone “heard voices” telling them they had a brain tumor, and that’s what their brain scan looked like.
Not a tumor or a hole but fluid
In reality, Brooklynlikestories confirmed in the comments it was “large right-sided cystic structures” linked to “atypical cystic encephalomalacia,” based on her original 2009 MRI report.
On MRI scans, these fluid-filled cavities can appear striking because they appear as large, dark, or hollow-looking areas in places where dense brain tissue would normally be visible, creating the illusion that something is “missing” when it has actually been replaced by cerebrospinal fluid.
Medical experts note that such cysts do not necessarily mean a person is missing half their brain or unable to function. In many cases, surrounding brain structures adapt, and individuals can live relatively normal lives depending on the size and location of the cavity.
Is there any legal recourse?
As for legal options, the meme situation is complicated. In most cases, copyright belongs to the creator of the image, such as the medical provider or imaging facility, not necessarily the patient. If the original poster did not own the copyright, their ability to pursue a copyright infringement claim may be limited.
Additionally, while U.S. medical privacy laws such as HIPAA protect patient information from unauthorized disclosure by healthcare providers, those protections generally do not apply once an individual voluntarily shares their own medical image publicly.
For now, the Reddit user appears to be taking the situation with a mix of humor and disbelief. One comment noted, in part, “It’s mind-blowing how everyone will just accept that a picture with words above or below it is 100% true and will not question it at all.”
