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What's With All The Memes About 'Injecting Crushed Butterfly'? The Bizarre News Story About A Brazilian Teen Explained
The internet is a strange place, but even by its standards, the story of a Brazilian teen injecting himself with a crushed butterfly is an all-timer. Fourteen-year-old Davi Nunes Moreira reportedly decided to test out some DIY biotech earlier this month by extracting liquid from a butterfly and shooting it into his leg.
Predictably, this did not go well. Within days, he fell seriously ill and tragically passed away at the hospital.
Cue the internet losing its collective mind. A New York Post viral headline about the event set off a chain reaction of disbelief, grim jokes and speculation.
Was it an internet challenge? A failed attempt at getting insect superpowers, or just the world’s worst science experiment? Here's a recap of the story and all the memes it inspired.
What's The Story About A Brazilian Teen 'Injecting Himself With Crushed Butterfly'?
According to local news outlets in Brazil, 14-year-old Davi Nunes Moreira spent a week in a hospital in Planalto, Bahia, Brazil battling the effects of septic shock. He had been dealing with soreness in his leg and severe vomiting for days, and had admitted to his doctors that "he had kneaded a butterfly, removed a liquid from the insect, and injected it into his own leg with the use of a syringe."
Moreira died after a week of pain on February 16th, 2025, and his story quickly spread online.
Redditor Elegant-Panic7491 posted about Moreira's death to the subreddit /r/MorbidReality on February 18th, after which the Daily Mail published an article about his death and amplified unfounded speculation from social media users about Moreira's actions being the result of an internet challenge.
But things about the shocking story only came to a head when the New York Post published articles about Moreira's death with the eye-catching headline, "Teen who died after injecting himself with butterfly remains spent 7 agonizing days in the hospital."
How Did The Story About A Teen 'Injecting Crushed Butterfly' Become A Meme?
The sensational articles about Davi Moreira's strange decision to "inject" butterfly extract made internet users do a double take, with some going, "Wait, what?" and others, like Lindy Man, commending the teen for taking on the brave task of warning others against following his footsteps.
More internet users posted jokes about the news story, fixating on the regrettably hilarious phrasing "injected crushed butterfly."
Some people made jokes about how injecting butterfly is worse than doing hard drugs, while others made jokes using the piracy template, writing, "You Wouldn't Inject a Butterfly."
So What Made The Brazilian Teen Inject Butterfly Remains Into His Leg Anyways?
While some news outlets blamed an "internet challenge" for Davi Moreira's actions, there's no evidence to back up the idea that he was inspired to do what he did because of something he saw online.
In fact, many internet users took to social media to roll their ideas at the trend in which media outlets blame "dangerous internet challenges" for things that simply have no traction online.
@arthurmorgansballhair like how about we blame the parents for not watching their kids?! idk weird concept #foryoupage ♬ original sound – doll🎀
For the full history of Teen Who Injected Himself With a Crushed Butterfly, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
