The Accent Challenge began as a viral video trend on platforms like Tumblr and YouTube, later exploding on TikTok. Participants read a list of specific words—like 'car,' 'water,' or 'aunt'—to showcase their regional dialects and unique pronunciations. As an image meme, it evolved into a way to mock specific accents or highlight the humor in how different cultures approach the same language. It is widely used to celebrate linguistic diversity or to jokingly gatekeep the 'correct' way to pronounce common household items, making it a staple of social media culture.