The cynical 2026 internet landscape has become a wake-up call for many. With heavy news events like disease, war and immigration tensions, some find the content too heavy to engage in during their off time. 

This is why “hopecore” — positive stories that highlight joy and wishful thinking — is making a comeback. For every bleak headline, there is a hopeful post to complement it. 

“There’s so little hope in the modern sense of it,” said Geoff Durso, an assistant professor of marketing at DePaul’s business school who also has a doctorate in psychology. “It’s not necessarily avoiding the bad stuff. … I’ll learn the news, but I also love to see a baby elephant or a baby rhino try to walk around and make some noise.”

The term was coined in 2023, originating with TikTok edits and hopeful online compilations. The trend wasn’t necessarily designed to spread joy, but more so to promote it ironically. Sports celebrations and dancing animals broke the internet for a few months before the trend gradually fell into irrelevance. In 2026, hopecore has seen a resurgence, though in a way that Durso and others see as more genuine.

This second wave of hopecore is something many feel the world needs right now. People are fed up with negativity and firm headlines in their algorithms and are looking for positivity through hopecore.

Ranging from videos of happy pets to inspiring messages, hopecore is the thesis statement for internet optimism in an age of isolation and confusion. Hopecore has infiltrated  both news and art in approachable and honest stories, bringing new life and atmosphere to the term.

Blockbusters movies like “Project Hail Mary” and “Superman” achieved massive success at the box office and were praised for their optimism. Some also see recent stories like the uplifting Artemis II moon mission and San Francisco sea lion “Chonkers” as further reminders of the authentic good in the world.

“Being optimistic is really, really important,” said Michelle Friend, a senior majoring in communication and media at DePaul. For her, it’s a way to keep up with hard news but still make room for attracting good energy into her life. 

“If you focus on positive, more positive manifests,” she added.

The drive to create accessible content has encouraged digital media users to form entire accounts tailored to hopecore and positivity. Online Instagram and TikTok creators like BoxInTheAttic have built followings with short reels intended to inspire and relax their viewers, marrying nostalgic needle drops to blissful life-affirming content. 

“I realized my social media feed was getting super dark and having a negative impact on me,” said the owner of the BoxInTheAttic account, who chooses to remain anonymous for their internet privacy. “In search of less depressing content, I found multiple hopecore creators, and they inspired me to start posting hopecore myself.”

BoxInTheAttic has amassed 147,000 followers over the seven months their account has been active. Other hopecore creators like ThatGoodNewsGirl and brain.nourishmentt have gained even more. Stopping to smell the roses appears to have found its following in the mainstream, breaking through the storm of negativity.

Modern hopecore reminds us of a shared cultural zeitgeist, an appreciation for positive mainstreamed art that brings people together. 

“It’s a moment,” Durso said. “There’s something that’s been said about digital media and the internet that we no longer have as much of a shared cultural moment.”

Even if the world feels like a scary place, hopecore can remind us that there is good in the world too, according to BoxInTheAttic.

“Social media makes it seem like everyone wants to be mad and argue all the time, but how many people have you met like that in real life?” they asked. “I think in the real world, people just want to be happy, and society would be better if social media algorithms reflected that.”

Related Stories:

• ‘‘Whimsy’ is trending — but is now the right time?
• Stage Diving in the STU: Zercher steals the show at Battle of the Bands
• The Return of HBO’s ‘Euphoria’