Te'oing is an Internet meme in which participants, usually male, take pictures of themselves interacting with an invisible girlfriend. The online prank emerged in January of 2012 after Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o cited the tragic death of his girlfriend for inspiring his breakout season, only to discover through news media that the woman didn't exist. Through an elaborate online hoax using social media, Te'o had been conned into becoming attached to photos and communications from a woman who had apparently been invented for that purpose.