"We don't deserve him": Rahul Ligma meaning explained as pranksters posing as fired Twitter employees spark hilarious responses

The "Rahul Ligma" meme has caught everyone's attention on social media, including Elon Musk. Following Musk's $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform Twitter on Friday, October 28, 2022, a rumour quickly spread about employees being fired.

Although the new owner of the app did fire top executives, the internet's claim of Musk firing employees was not entirely true. Making the most of the situation, two men using fictitious names—Rahul Ligma and Daniel Johnson—pretended to be laid-off Twitter employees.

They quickly became internet sensations. Both of them became so popular that Elon Musk was unable to refrain from tweeting about them. Musk wrote,

“Ligma Johnson had it coming.”

In another tweet, he also called both of these men “one of the best trolls ever.”

At the same time, several others also took to Twitter to post about Rahul and Johnson. One netizen tweeted,

“Rahul Ligma, the man, pretending to get laid off from Twitter, is a hero. We don’t deserve him.”

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Ligma: A made-up disease? Netizens crack up over meaning of Rahul Ligma amidst Twitter takeover

While the Twitter takeover and meme have recently become popular topics in pop culture, many people are also wondering what Rahul Ligma means.

As per dictionary.com, the term "Ligma" refers to a made-up disease associated with an internet hoax shared by internet user ninja_hater, who claimed Fortnite video game streamer Ninja died as a result of the disease. It is also an explicit slang term used by Gen Z on social media frequently.

Rahul, on the other hand, is a common Indian male name. The identities of these men were not verified by the media outlets who were interviewing them, and this is where the meme game began, as the interviewers did not know that they were being duped and pranked.

Before it became clear that this was a prank, a journalist who posted a photo of the two men said:

“It’s happening. Entire team of data engineers let go. These are two of them.”

However, the comments on this post were hilarious, with one social media user commenting:

“You got conned. Name is 'Rahul LIGMA' C’mon man.”

She later posted a follow-up tweet, saying:

“Earlier today we reported on CNBC that a team of data engineers was let go at Twitter based on the account of 2 ppl who told us they were a part of that team. We have not been able to confirm that they were actual employees or that the co has laid off anyone today.”

Along with Elon Musk, the internet has been taken by storm, with people unable to stop sharing their hilarious reactions.

Many also noticed how the box held by Rahul and his companion is empty.

Furthermore, Benny Johnson, the popular political columnist, also took to Twitter to post about this recent incident. He said:

“Lib reporters outside Twitter HQ get absolutely TROLLED by SAVAGE actors pretending to be fired software engineers. The looks on their faces when he says his name is PRICELESS. 'Rahul Ligma'.”

The 'Rahul Ligma' meme has grown so popular that people have started taking it as an inspiration for their Halloween costumes. One netizen, dressed up as Rahul, tweeted,

“Ladies and gentlemen. The first rahul ligma for halloween.”

With millions of tweets about the prank and the pranksters, there has been no official statement as of yet by the two men who posed as laid-off Twitter employees. Their real names had not been made public as of the time of writing.