Cover-Credits:
- Jebaited's meaning is known only to those who are regulars on Twitch or follow the fighting games community.
- The emote is based on Alex Jebailey, one of the biggest promoters of the FCG in North America.
- Twitch originally used a more macho emote for Jebaited before changing it to something funny to represent trolling and trickery.
The meaning of Jebaited on Twitch might not be easy to figure out if you are new to the platform. In short, the word means to get tricked or trolled, but there is a long history behind the emote and how it found a home on Twitch. Jebaited’s meaning is often confused with more generic emotes like LUL or KEKW but it specifically signifies trolling on Twitch. The Jebaited emote has evolved over the years and it took its present form in 2016 when Twitch updated its full suite of emotes. Let’s take a closer look at the meaning of Jebaited and how FGC’s Director and community organizer Alex Jebailey became the face of the emote.
Jebaited Meaning and Significance
The emote Jebaited is usually used when a streamer is tricked or trolled in-game, by another person, or in chat by viewers. The meaning of Jebaited can be explained through various examples. Someone on Twitch could be stuck on a level in a video game and a viewer could offer some fake advice which does not work. It would trick the streamer into doing something that clearly does not work, and it is “bait”. Since the emote is based on Alex Jebailey, the words Jebailey and “bait” get combined into Jebait or Jebaited.
The History of Jebaited and How It Became Popular on Twitch
Alex Jebailey is the face of the 'Jebaited' emote. Image Credit: FCG Wiki
The emote is based on Alex Jebailey, who is currently Esports Event Consultant and ESL Gaming’s Fighting Game Director. He has been promoting the fighting game community in North America for years and has been a part of multiple fighting game conventions over the years. He was a tournament organizer for Community Effort Orlando, which is a fighting game event also known as CEO.
What makes CEO unique is that it mixes fighting games with actual wrestling. Esports players get to have their own WWE-style entrances and fight against other players. Everything in the event is scripted and for entertainment value only. There was a crossover event in 2018 known as CEOxNJPW which saw CEO partner with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Alex Jebailey competed against a wrestler named Michael Nakazawa and won. Whenever Jebailey won a match, fans used to say that his opponents got “jebaited” because of how he tricked his opponents when fighting. That is how the term was coined
How Jebaited’s Meaning Changed Over The Years
The original emote was added to the platform because Jebailey was friends with Ben “Fishsticks” Goldhaber, who was one of the first people to work for Twitch. The emote showed a more macho version of Jebailey but it was replaced with an updated photo in 2016. The emote is based on a picture taken during a fan event hosted by Jebailey. From a more aggressive emote it changed into something funny, and it went on to become one of the most popular emotes on the streaming platform.
RELATED: What Does KEKW Mean in Twitch Chat and Where Did It Originate?
