Macquarie Dictionary has named its word of the year for 2017, and it's sent plenty of people scrambling to the Google search bar today. The "milkshake duck" is a well-known term among avid Twitter users, but it's left quite a few others scratching their heads.

But the phenomenon it describes should be familiar to anyone who's witnessed the often harsh cycles of viral news – especially those that start off as a "feel good" story.

A milkshake duck is a seemingly innocent individual or thing that is initially embraced and beloved by the internet's mass audience, only to be brought crashing down when further investigation reveals them to possess a fatal flaw.

The term was coined in June 2016 by Australian cartoonist Ben Ward, who tweeted the following sketch from his Twitter account @pixelatedboat: "The whole internet loves Milkshake Duck, a lovely duck that drinks milkshakes! *5 seconds later* We regret to inform you the duck is racist."

The tweet has been retweeted more than 12,000 times since then, but more importantly, the idea of the milkshake duck has entered the online lexicon, globally.

Despite being less than two years old, the term is already being used as a verb. To "milkshake duck" something or someone is to expose their shady past in such a way that it ruins their previously-beloved status and makes them an object of ridicule and hate instead of adoration.

In a time dominated by the #MeToo movement and the felling of several beloved celebrities after their exposure as sexual predators and serial harassers, the term has gathered even more currency – although technically, a milkshake duck is one who's suddenly got their 15 minutes of fame via the internet, rather than Hollywood celebrities with established careers (or other powerful individuals).

The Macquarie committee said of its choice: "Milkshake duck stood out as being a much-needed term to describe something we are seeing more and more of, not just on the internet but now across all types of media. It plays to the simultaneous desire to bring someone down and the hope that they won't be brought down. In many ways it captures what 2017 has been about."

Notable milkshake ducks

• Keaton Jones: the schoolboy from Tennessee sparked an outpouring of support from celebrities on social media after his plea to stop bullying, a video message his mother uploaded to Facebook, went viral in December. But he soon became a milkshake duck after revelations his mother had posted messages to Facebook calling Black Lives Matter protesters "butt hurt Americans" who should "stop crying", alongside images of the Confederate flag.

• Chewbacca Mom: Remember the woman who went viral for her smile-inducing selfie video as she joyfully laughed into a Chewbacca mask that made her voice sound like the iconic Star Wars character? If so, do you also remember the backlash after she tried to turn her allocated 15 minutes into a speaking career? People were not happy about it. She was summarily milkshake ducked.

• Ken Bone: The "red sweater guy" from the second presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in October 2016 was lauded for his thoughtful questioning of the candidates, with the New York Post even declaring he was the winner of the debate, rather than Clinton. Well, a few days later, the sudden internet darling was milkshake ducked when it turned out he was actually a bit of an internet creep. After accidentally revealing an old Reddit alias during an "ask me anything" session, users soon found evidence that he wasn't such a squeaky-clean, model citizen after all. His transgressions included commenting on hacked Jennifer Lawrence nudes: "I saw her butt hole. I liked it."
• Curve-loving hubby: In July last year, Robbie Tripp posted an Instagram photo of himself embracing his "curvy" wife, with a lengthy caption in which he implored fellow men to "rethink what society has told you that you should desire".

The post went viral, at first for what people saw as its positive message; but then the backlash started as others identified its sentiment as self-congratulatory and patronising.

But it was only when past tweets surfaced calling Caitlyn Jenner "Bruce" and playing racial stereotypes for laughs that Tripp truly became a milkshake duck.