Painting of a crowd of people with blank expressions under the text 'FLUORIDE STARE'

Fluoride Stare

2016catchphraseclassic

Published November 10, 2026

Fluoride Stare is a catchphrase and image macro conspiracy theorists use for the glassy, vacant look regular people give them mid-rant about Flat Earth or water fluoridation. Flat Earth Matters coined it on Facebook in April 2016, pairing the phrase with Alex Gross's 2014 painting Distractions. By 2022, Instagram page pite.mp4 was captioning Patrick Bateman and Ryan Gosling with it as part of the Sigma Stare joke.

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Overview

Posts combine Impact-font text with Alex Gross's painting Distractions, showing a crowd of blank-faced people clutching phones and staring forward like zombies1. Conspiracy theorists use the phrase to mock 'sheeple' who refuse to engage with theories about water fluoridation, chemtrails, or a flat Earth, suggesting the listener's dead gaze proves they have been chemically pacified2. The original caption read, 'When You Mention Flat Earth And All You Get Back Is That Fluoride Stare'3.

Later variations swap in different image macros, including the Awkward Party Reaction template6 and stills of Marvel, DC, and Harry Potter characters replacing the original crowd7. By the early 2020s, the phrase broke free of its conspiracy roots, with welders, woodworkers, and Sigma Male posters using it for any blank reaction, often ironically89.

Origin & Background

Platform
Facebook (Flat Earth Matters) / Twitter (viral spread)
Creator
Unknown
Date
2016

On April 15, 2016, the Facebook group Flat Earth Matters published the first image macro carrying the phrase, overlaying Impact text about Flat Earth onto a reproduction of Alex Gross's 2014 oil painting Distractions3. The painting, part of Gross's commentary on tech-induced social numbness, shows a packed crowd of people lit by phone screens with hollow expressions1. Water fluoridation conspiracy theories reach back to the 1940s, but the catchphrase itself did not appear until early 2016 inside Flat Earth communities on Facebook and Twitter4.

How It Spread

Twitter user @SuperSpacedad reposted the Flat Earth Matters image on April 23, 2016, calling it a newly minted catchphrase2. Writer David Futrelle amplified the tweet the next day with his own edit, drawing attention to the new catchphrase in flat earth circles5.

Facebook page Grow Food, Not Lawns reused the joke on November 16, 2017, with the Awkward Party Reaction macro, reaching roughly 1,700 reactions6. On January 12, 2020, Face The Truth inserted Marvel, DC, and Harry Potter characters into the original crowd layout7.

From there, the joke migrated to Instagram and TikTok. welding_irony claimed on April 6, 2021, that woodworkers hit welders with the Fluoride Stare8. On April 17, 2022, pite.mp4 reposted a since-deleted sigmasauce edit featuring Patrick Bateman and Ryan Gosling9. TikToker @monstermashstd branded it a 'fluoride stare' dance on April 27, 202110, and @leekycartier posted a January 2022 video that reached around 18,100 likes11.

Timeline

2017-11-16

Facebook page Grow Food, Not Lawns remixes the joke using the Awkward Party Reaction macro.

2020-01-12

Face The Truth inserts Marvel, DC, and Harry Potter characters into the original crowd image.

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How to Use This Meme

Typical posts overlay Impact caption text on an image of a blank-eyed crowd or face, usually Alex Gross's Distractions painting. The caption often follows the 'When you mention X and all you get back is that Fluoride Stare' pattern, where X is a conspiracy theory, hobby, or fringe belief. Later versions skip the original painting and apply the phrase to any flat, unresponsive expression.

Frequently Asked Questions