What’s The ‘Abraham Lincoln Virus’ Meme? The ‘Abe Lincoln.exe’ AI Videos And ‘Four Score And Severed Your Soul Ago’ Explained

There’s a new meme^[1] that’s infecting TikTok^[2] right now, based on a fake “Abraham Lincoln Virus^[3],” which unleashes an onslaught of pop-ads and errors when an unlucky gamer^[4] comes across it in Garry’s Mod^[5] or Fortnite^[6].

It’s “fake” because, surprisingly, all of these “Lincoln.exe” “Let’s Play^[7]” clips are being generated with the AI Video^[8] software Sora^[9] by OpenAI. Even the evil, red-eyed Lincoln’s catchphrase^[10], “Four score and severed your soul ago,” was seemingly generated with artificial intelligence^[11].

How, though? Where did the “Abraham Lincoln Virus^[12]” meme originate and how is the internet reacting to it? Let’s explain.

Where Did The ‘Abraham Lincoln Virus’ Meme Come From?

A TikToker named @swaggerigi^[13] is the creator of the “Abraham Lincoln Virus” meme. They began sharing a series of AI-generated videos on October 7th, using the OpenAI software Sora 2, which debuted at the end of September^[14].

Like many of the new Sora 2 videos, the “Abraham Lincoln Virus” memes don’t always look AI-generated at first glance because they effectively hijack the “Let’s Play” YouTuber format, including the edits that the videos often include and solid replications of the low-poly graphics in GMod. It’s uncanny.

But it seems like the meme’s inspiration wasn’t thought up by a robot. “Abraham Lincoln Virus” is reminiscent of other video game cryptids^[15] from creepypastas^[16], like Herobrine^[17] and Sonic.exe^[18]. Perhaps the creator was riffing on that established character genre.

Characteristically, the evil Abe Lincoln has glowing, red eyes and is summoned in many of the clips because users in the game’s chat box spam^[19] “Lincoln.”

What Does ‘Four Score And Severed Your Soul Ago’ Mean?

The catchphrase^[23] “Four score and severed your soul ago” was coined in the third video^[24] that TikToker @swaggerigi shared on October 7th. It’s included as the caption for the penultimate pop-up window that’s the final blow in the “Abe Lincoln Virus” error combo.

The phrase riffs on the late U.S.^[25] President’s famous Gettysburg Address speech. History buffs know that Lincoln’s monologue opens with, “Four score and seven years ago…” The “severed your soul” part is just the gruesome, ominous version of it.

How Are People Making The ‘Abraham Lincoln Virus’ AI Videos?

The savvy meme creators making these “Abraham Lincoln Virus” videos all seem to be using the OpenAI software Sora 2^[26], evident in the “Sora” watermark seen overlayed on most of them.

The new AI Video software is powerful. Just two years ago, the internet was laughing at systems of yore, like ModelScope Text2Video^[27], flailing to enact simple requests, like “Will Smith Eating Spaghetti^[28].”

Sora 2 is a new frontier for the AI Video format. “Abraham Lincoln Virus” appears to be only the start of video meme trends that will make the viewer question their AI radar.

What Are People Saying About The ‘Abraham Lincoln Virus’ Meme?

As of writing, the predominant opinion about the “Abraham Lincoln Virus,” as expressed on TikTok, is a positive one.

“Not gonna lie, the Abraham Lincoln Virus meme has got to be one of the funniest memes right now,” wrote TikToker @rootbeer4life._^[32] in a viral video of theirs. “It’s way better than those niche^[33] memes,” they continued. “I hope no one ruins it.”

A TikToker named @w.tamenlover^[34] shared a similar take in their own viral video from this week. “The Abraham Lincoln Virus meme is the first funny meme in a while. Too bad people who despise AI are gonna call it corny,” they wrote.

For a while now, AI-generated memes have been under scrutiny, basically ever since the thrill of that first wave of DALL-E mini^[41] images. Trends like the “Studio Ghibli AI Generator^[42]” have been lambasted by internet users, who think “slop^[43]” shouldn’t have a place in online humor.

Perhaps the “Abraham Lincoln Virus” is helping AI Video pivot that stigma or maybe not. AI Video has had a tough month reputation-wise already, all because of a woman who broke a glass bridge with a boulder^[44].

What Are Some More ‘Abraham Lincoln Virus’ Memes?

For the full history of Abraham Lincoln Virus, be sure to check out Know Your Meme’s entry^[80] for even more information.