Comment by lcnPylGDnU4H9OF

> it isn't even that common a word, and all of a sudden everyone it seems like everyone using it

In this particular case, it is a very unique word. I don't know of any that even come close to meaning the same thing. People with a desire to express their observations may find only a single word to do so. FWIW, I was familiar with the word already and I've similarly notice a seeming uptick in use on this site.

> For instance.. why did everyone all of a sudden care so much about the price of eggs during the last election? There's no way that was entirely organic.

I see your point and I think you're on the right track. It's memetics. Egg prices being high is a meme. The public spat between Donald Trump and Elon Musk being a kayfabe performance is a meme. Neither is necessarily an engineered meme.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memetics#Applications

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memetic_engineering