Angry German Kid (also known as Keyboard Crasher, Unreal Tournament Kid, AGK or PC Spielen) is a viral web video from 14 February 2006. The fictionalized persona in the viral video, played by German teenager Norman Kochanowski, tries to play Unreal Tournament on his PC, but faces problems with it, such as the game loading up slowly, which causes him to get enraged and shout, as well as smashing his keyboard in some scenes, with the video ending with Kochanowski furiously slamming the keyboard against his desk before leaving. Business Wire awarded Angry German Kid second place in the top 10 internet videos of the year on 14 February 2006,[1] and in 2007, The Guardian ranked it as number three on its Viral Video Chart.[2]
For a long time, the behaviour demonstrated in the video was widely believed to be genuine, but it was later revealed that the video was staged and part of a series of comedic skits. After the video was prominently featured on German television by production company Focus TV, the video went viral online and was re-uploaded many times. The viral spread of the video resulted in its original context being lost.
- ^ "Break.com and "Nobody's Watching" Unveil the Top Internet Videos of the Year at the e-List Party". 30 November 2006.
- ^ Kiss, Jemima (8 June 2007). "Guardian Viral Video Chart". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2022.