--- title: Alex From Target: It Doesn't Matter If He's Real of Fake description: We may never really know whether Alex from Target is real, a marketing ploy, or a little bit of both. canonical: https://time.com/3559118/alexfromtarget-target-real-meme/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-05T19:24:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:14:23.699Z og:title: Alex From Target: It Doesn't Matter If He's Real of Fake og:description: We may never really know whether Alex from Target is real, a marketing ploy, or a little bit of both. og:url: https://time.com/3559118/alexfromtarget-target-real-meme/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4b4352ee977d4c75/69876449cd684852160977cf/screen-shot-2014-11-05-at-1-42-42-pm.png?branch=production&width=484&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 484 og:image:height: 272 og:image:alt: Screen Shot 2014-11-05 at 1.42.42 PM og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Alex From Target: It Doesn't Matter If He's Real of Fake twitter:description: We may never really know whether Alex from Target is real, a marketing ploy, or a little bit of both. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4b4352ee977d4c75/69876449cd684852160977cf/screen-shot-2014-11-05-at-1-42-42-pm.png?branch=production&width=484&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # It Doesn't Matter if Alex From Target Is Real or Fake > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Nov 5, 2014 7:24 PM UTC  YouTube by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Nov 5, 2014 7:24 PM UTC The Internet is an emotional roller coaster. Over the weekend, a picture of a 16-year-old cashier now forever known as [Alex from Target](http://time.com/3554572/alex-from-target/) went mega-viral for no discernible reason save the fact that the Internet is 1) incredibly random and 2) run by [teenagers](http://gawker.com/who-is-alex-from-target-and-why-is-teen-twitter-obsess-1653969291) who love adorable boys. By Tuesday, a digital marketing company called Breakr [told CNET](http://www.cnet.com/news/marketing-company-claims-responsibility-for-alex-from-target/) that it was actually responsible for Alex from Target’s virality — launching his fans into a deep depression made up of sad emoji upon realizing that everything is, in fact, a lie. Later that day, following significant Twitter backlash, Breakr backpedaled and said the meme was real — the company had merely [“drummed up support.”](http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/did-a-company-start-alexfromtarget) So is he real? [Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/conspiracy-theory-about-alex-from-target-2014-11) is skeptical and thinks that Target — a company that, let’s face it, [could use some good press right now](http://time.com/money/3558447/target-closing-stores/) — could actually be the brains behind the operation. The fact that Alex waited a few days to go on _Ellen_ as his first press appearance seems kind of calculated (you _know_ all the morning shows were calling), and companies have a [history](http://time.com/3558488/alex-from-target-fake-viral-marketing-stunts/) of planting viral stories. Some never even [end up coming clean](http://mashable.com/2013/05/08/viral/) — which, considering the Breakr backlash, is understandable. But when Alex appeared on _Ellen_, he was [everything](http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/news/a32909/heres-alexfromtarget-in-the-flesh/) we wanted him to be. Confused (“I was just really confused!”), unassuming (when asked if he could use the moment to capitalize on other talents he claimed he couldn’t even dance well), and unready for fame (his Twitter following jumped form 144 to 550k — “I feel so pressured, they’re waiting!”) We may never really know whether Alex from Target is real, a marketing ploy, or a little bit of both. And it doesn’t really matter. We have become conditioned to trust both everything and nothing. We know that most viral moments are too good to be true, and that every meme runs the risk of breaking our hearts. And yet, having the collective memory of a goldfish, the Twitterverse will continue to favorite and share. Because Alex is adorable and a great distraction. Even if Alex is lie. **See More:** [7 Incredible Viral Moments That Turned Out to Be Marketing Stunts](http://time.com/3558488/alex-from-target-fake-viral-marketing-stunts/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3559118/alexfromtarget-target-real-meme/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3559118/alexfromtarget-target-real-meme/"},"headline":"It Doesn't Matter if Alex From Target Is Real or Fake","datePublished":"2014-11-05T19:24:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:14:23.699Z","description":"We have become conditioned to trust both everything and nothing","url":"https://time.com/3559118/alexfromtarget-target-real-meme/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Internet","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4b4352ee977d4c75/69876449cd684852160977cf/screen-shot-2014-11-05-at-1-42-42-pm.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4b4352ee977d4c75/69876449cd684852160977cf/screen-shot-2014-11-05-at-1-42-42-pm.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Screen Shot 2014-11-05 at 1.42.42 PM","caption":"","creditText":"YouTube","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3559118/alexfromtarget-target-real-meme/","name":"It Doesn't Matter if Alex From Target Is Real or Fake"}}]}] ```