Seven years ago, a man ran past a reporter on live TV, stretched his arms behind him like the titular character from the anime Nartuto, and became the one person everyone wanted to talk about at the Storm Area 51 event. The viral moment, now known as the “Naruto Area 51 Runner,” started small and grew into a meme machine within days.
The runner’s name is Elia Elixir. He was an attendee at the event, and he photobombed the broadcast. The video of the run went viral on various websites, and it inspired a series of image macro memes.
The Run Behind the Reporter
On September 20th, 2019, KTNV newscaster Joe Bartels reported on the Storm Area 51 event. Elixir ran past him, arms spread wide behind his back, imitating the action of the anime’s titular character. The broadcast’s cameras caught him, and the video made the rounds that very day.
KTNV posted the video to YouTube, where it pulled in more than 1,600 views in under four days. The run itself is simple: a person running with their arms stretched behind their back, their torso hinged at the waist. It is a parody of an action performed by the character from Nartuto, and it was performed right there on camera.
How the Video Went Viral
The video’s first major share came from Twitter user @palmerdebra, who posted it with the caption “#area51 #area51raid.” The post drew more than 26,000 likes and 9,700 retweets in under four days.
Then came the tweet that pushed it to the top. Twitter user @MunaNawabit1 shared the video with the caption “#LiveFromTheArea51Raid the kid that runs behind the reporter is going down in history.” That post received more than 176,000 likes, 56,000 retweets and more than 5 million videos.
The caption described the moment as one that would go down in history. A kid running past a reporter on live TV is a moment, captured, and it became the one thing everyone remembered from the event.
Elixir’s Interview With KTNV
That same day, KTNV interviewed the runner. They revealed his name was Elia Elixir. The interview drew more than 9.2 million views in under four days.
The interview did not add much to the story. It named the runner, and it gave viewers a face to attach to the action they had already seen. But the name stuck, and the number of views showed how attached people had become to this particular photobomb.
The Memes That Followed
The image was too good for a single share. Reddit users began using screenshots of the video in object-labeled image macros. One Redditor named cafecl0pe shared a version in which the runner personifies the creation of a rainbow. That post received more than 70,000 points, 95% upvoted, and 270 comments in three days.
Redditor Tutankhhamun took the image and placed it into a frame from The Office, the American television comedy. That post pulled in more than 136,000 points, 96% upvoted, and 500 comments in three days.
Redditor Hoggord shared a GIF of the moment. That post drew more than 120,000 points, 92% upvoted, and 2,500 comments in three days.
The posts were widely viewed and widely commented on, with strong upvote numbers across all three.
The Media Coverage
The story reached beyond social media. Various media outlets covered the video and the memes, including TIME and CNet. TIME ran a piece titled “This Naruto Runner Is Clearly Already the One True Legend of the ‘Area 51 Raid.'” CNet titled its coverage “Area 51 memes: Watch a guy Naruto run behind a reporter on live TV.”
Seven years on, the moment still has legs. The story is simple, the action is absurd, and the fact that it worked at all is the joke.
The Numbers That Matter
- KTNV’s original video: more than 1,600 views in under four days
- @palmerdebra’s tweet: more than 26,000 likes, 9,700 retweets
- @MunaNawabit1’s tweet: more than 176,000 likes, 56,000 retweets, more than 5 million videos
- KTNV’s interview with Elixir: more than 9.2 million views in under four days
- cafecl0pe’s Reddit post: more than 70,000 points, 95% upvoted
- Tutankhhamun’s Reddit post: more than 136,000 points, 96% upvoted
- Hoggord’s Reddit post: more than 120,000 points, 92% upvoted
The numbers tell the story. A video with 1,600 views is small. A video with 9.2 million views is a phenomenon.
The run was a photobomb. It was caught on camera, and it became the story of the event.
Seven years later, the joke still works. A kid running past a reporter on live TV is the one true legend of the Area 51 raid.
See the video the story is built around at Know Your Meme.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.