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'Laurel' or 'yanny'?: Viral 4-second audio clip is dividing the internet

0:46
Twitter / @CloeCouture
'Laurel' or 'yanny'?: Viral 4-second audio clip is dividing the internet
STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images
Catherine Thorbecke
ByCatherine Thorbecke
May 15, 2018, 10:19 PM

It's the new "the dress": A four-second audio clip has triggered a heated debate on the internet.

In the viral clip, a robotic voice says a single word that has divided the online community, as some people swear they hear "yanny" while others can only hear "laurel."

Moreover, some people have added to the confusion by somehow saying they can hear both.

Most people trace the origins of the audio clip, which picked up a lot of steam on Twitter this afternoon, following a Reddit post from over the weekend by user RolandCamry. The redditer did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Organizations including the National Public Radio have weighed in on the debate, saying on Twitter, whichever team you are on, "We're just happy you're listening to audio on the internet."

The clip comes a few years after a black-and-blue or white-and-gold dress divided friendships online.

A striped dress that became an internet sensation is exhibited a the museum in Nuremberg, Germany, March 9, 2015.
dpa via AP Images

Many have turned to social media to voice their distress, opinions and madness at the debate that is tearing apart the internet.

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