Ben Carson Wikipedia — Ben Carson next to Easter Island moai statues with the fake quote 'Nope. Goliath's GI Joes.'

Ben Carson Wikipedia

2015hashtagdead

Published November 14, 2026

Ben Carson Wikipedia, used with the hashtag #BenCarsonWikipedia, is a November 2015 Twitter joke format that mocked Dr. Ben Carson after video resurfaced of him telling 1998 graduates the Egyptian pyramids were grain silos from the Book of Genesis. Twitter users answered with satirical pseudo-history posts written in Carson's deadpan voice.

hashtag memes political satire memes presidential memes twitter memes fake quote memes

Overview

Posts under #BenCarsonWikipedia read like encyclopedia entries rewritten by a Carson fan account, each one packaging an obvious fiction as deadpan historical fact2. Many riffs borrowed the voice of #AccordingToPalin, an earlier hashtag mocking Sarah Palin's history gaffes, while others paired Carson's theory with references to the Ancient Aliens meme2.

Carson's own defense gave the joke a second life. Asked by CBS News whether he stood by his theory after the clip went viral, the Republican primary candidate answered, 'it's still my belief, yes,' supplying reporters with a fresh news hook each time the story resurfaced2.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter (viral spread after 2012 YouTube upload)
Date
2015

The source clip came from Dr. Ben Carson's May 1998 keynote at Andrews University, the flagship school of the Seventh-day Adventist system in Berrien Springs, Michigan, where he told graduates that the Egyptian pyramids were constructed by the biblical Joseph to store grain, not as pharaonic tombs2. YouTuber Charles Le Blanc uploaded the full speech on October 10, 2012, under the channel The Andrews Experience, and it drew only modest attention for three years1.

How It Spread

BuzzFeed surfaced the Joseph claim on November 4, 2015, while Carson was running for the Republican presidential nomination, and the archived clip cleared 165,000 views in under a week2. Within 48 hours, MSNBC, CBS, CNN, the Washington Post, and TIME ran their own write-ups of the pyramid theory, with Vox, Salon, Slate, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, and Politico following on the opinion side2.

Twitter users started tagging satirical history posts with #BenCarsonWikipedia as the coverage spread, often borrowing the format of the earlier #AccordingToPalin tag2. Some posts mixed Carson's theory with the Ancient Aliens meme, swapping the show's extraterrestrial explanations for Carson-style biblical ones2. Carson's own refusal to walk back the theory on CBS News gave the hashtag an additional news cycle2.

Timeline

1998-05

Dr. Ben Carson gives the commencement keynote at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and shares his personal theory that the Egyptian pyramids were grain silos from the Book of Genesis.

2012-10-10

YouTuber Charles Le Blanc uploads the full speech to The Andrews Experience channel on YouTube, where it sits with little traffic for three years.

2015-11-04

BuzzFeed publishes an article highlighting Carson's pyramid claim, and the video clears 165,000 views in under a week.

2015-11-05

MSNBC, CBS, CNN, the Washington Post, and TIME all run coverage of the pyramid theory within 48 hours.

2015-11

Twitter users begin posting satirical pseudo-history factoids under the hashtag #BenCarsonWikipedia, with some crossing the format with Ancient Aliens references.

How to Use This Meme

Posts typically mimic a short encyclopedia-style sentence stating a fake historical 'fact,' often attributing a famous event or invention to a biblical figure. Many entries borrow the deadpan tone Carson used in the Andrews speech, and some pair the factoid with an Ancient Aliens reaction image for extra visual punch.

Frequently Asked Questions