The cryptographic image that once adorned the outside of a virtual soda can has been digitally removed to reveal the true story of the “CONSUME THIS”, which portrays an isolated figure lost in a flash of brightly colored pixels. The picture, which looks as though it was printed on one side of a large sheet of paper with two-color paint, depicts a man slumped against the side of a bright pink dumpster looking at the viewer with an empty gaze. The face of the character is unremarkable in a way only the most disturbing imagery can be: features are entirely indistinct and the eyes are a monolithic brown void in the center of a pale, unblemished skull.

The mouth of the startling man is open and unmoving, giving the face an unnatural stillness even in the night’s incessant rain and wind.

The curiosity surrounding the image has not slowed down the public’s thirst for it, as a campaign has been launched in hopes of finding the true identity of the man in the “CONSUME THIS” image and making a feature-length film from the pictures. Supporters of the project have even reached out to the most obscure online personas in the hope of finding a connection to the grim figure, as they believe that the world’s most notorious pranksters might know more about the creator than they have let on. The website for the project, entitled “WORLD REVEAL THE REAL STORY ABOUT CONSUME THIS,” contains several unsettling samples of the man’s image as well as additional details. The label “REVEALING THE REAL STORY” is plastered across the top of the main page, which contains the tagline, “The REAL STORY ABOUT CONSUME THIS.” The description continues:

The photographer responsible for the photograph you’ve been seeing for so long has decided to share the REAL STORY behind his iconic picture. We were alerted to the project by a few of our readers, and were left with questions that remained unanswered. This project will uncover the truth. Join us in this journey as we search for the true identity of this subject. Who is he? Why was he there? What was his relationship to the food left behind in the dumpster? How did he come to be standing there? You’re about to learn the TRUTH behind the “CONSUME THIS” photograph.

An image purportedly showing the artist and friend that, according to the website, created the “CONSUME THIS” photograph.

Among those who believe they know the identity of the man is Ransom Evans, who ran a meme-spoofing news outlet called Clickscrawl Daily until the site was shut down in 2015, allegedly due to negative attention it received for reporting on conspiracy theories. The belief that the “CONSUME THIS” photograph was, in fact, posted by Evans is no laughing matter, however. It is based on comments he posted on a message board under the username “RANSOMENOV” in 2014. He wrote:

…Remember how we brought it up that that guy in the CONSUME THIS pic, whom I call him “RES,” should be in the physical universe? He is one of the most remarkable and complex entities I have ever been in contact with. He has created things, opened dimensional portals to different realities, and touched people’s lives in ways that can never be ignored. And it is all as a one-off accident.

Delay also posted on the message board, but then removed it a few days later. He wrote:

RES did not “collapse,” or as some in the Snopes community say, “went AWOL.” RES may be a time traveler, future ninja, or a living construct in a dimension parallel to our own, but it is also likely that he collapsed. He has done something similar in the past. It was a freak incident that does not hold any connection to this one and does not mean he is dead. I did not mean to cause alarm with this post. It is not my intent to spread false information. I am fully aware that people are out to silence and discredit me, RES, and Clickscrawl Daily. As you have seen, it has already happened. In fact, the intent was not to bring about confusion, it was to stop. I do not believe RES is dead. I do not think he will ever be gone.

GPT-2