Ajit Pai is the former FCC Chairman who became a meme after leading the December 2017 repeal of net neutrality.

Where did Ajit Pai come from?

The mockery kicked off with a December 13th, 2017 Daily Caller video showing Pai doing the Harlem Shake in a Santa hat.

What does Ajit Pai mean?

As a meme, his name and face signal internet anger at telecom-friendly policy and the loss of net neutrality.

How do you use Ajit Pai?

People remix the green-screen popcorn video or the Harlem Shake clip with new captions about internet regulation complaints.

Is Ajit Pai still popular?

The meme peaked around the December 2017 FCC vote and the May 2018 Senate response, and faded once net neutrality dropped from the news cycle.

Ajit Pai

2017viral videodead

Published August 15, 2026

Ajit Pai memes mock the former FCC Chairman who led the December 2017 repeal of Obama-era net neutrality rules. The backlash produced viral clips of Pai dancing the Harlem Shake in a Santa hat and eating popcorn in front of a green screen, spreading across Reddit and Twitter through late 2017 and 2018.

political satire memes villain memes green screen memes backfire memes 2017 memes

Overview

Ajit Pai memes are mocking images and video edits targeting the former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, who pushed through the December 2017 repeal of Obama-era net neutrality rules3. The backlash turned Pai into a lightning rod for meme-based political mockery on Twitter and Reddit through late 2017 and 20182.

Recurring elements include a green-screen clip of Pai eating popcorn and a Santa-hat Harlem Shake video published just before the FCC vote1. Remixers layered the popcorn footage with music, Droste effect loops, and captions blaming Pai for killing the open internet4.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

The Daily Caller (source video) / Reddit and Twitter (viral spread)

Date

2017

On December 13th, 2017, conservative site The Daily Caller published a video of Ajit Pai reading a list titled '7 Things You Can Still Do on the Internet After Net Neutrality,' capped by Pai and other performers dancing the Harlem Shake in Santa hats1. The clip dropped one day before the FCC's December 14th vote to end the rules and drew immediate ridicule for its tone3.

How It Spread

On December 17th, 2017, Redditor Markmeoffended posted a green-screen video of Pai eating popcorn to /r/MemeEconomy, where it pulled more than 34,900 points and 560 comments within 24 hours4. The same user replied to their own thread with a Droste effect edit that looped the clip inside itself4.

Attacks picked up again in May 2018 after the U.S. Senate voted to overturn the FCC repeal. Twitter user @SkurpsSLP called May 16th 'Everybody give Ajit Pai the middle finger' Day, and photos of raised middle fingers spread with the tag5. On May 17th, The Daily Dot ran an article titled 'Internet mocks Ajit Pai after Senate net neutrality victory' covering the wave of online jokes2.

▶

Watch Video

How to Use This Meme

The typical Ajit Pai edit takes the green-screen popcorn clip4 or the Daily Caller Harlem Shake video1 and swaps in new backgrounds, subtitles, or music tied to a fresh grievance. Captions often frame Pai as smug about a policy decision that hurts ordinary internet users2.