# "I Bet the Jews Did This" "I Bet the Jews Did This" is an ironic catchphrase that mocks antisemitic conspiracy thinking by pairing it with a stock photo of a middle-aged man fuming at a tangled knot of Christmas lights. The image macro surfaced on 4chan's /b/ board in May 2009 and later picked up snowclone edits, including a 2013 Anita Sarkeesian version swapping in "the patriarchy" on the /r/thankspatriarchy subreddit. ## Origin The earliest known captioned version of the image was posted to 4chan's /b/ (random) board on May 28, 2009, and archived on Chan4chan[1]. The source photograph is a ThinkStock stock image titled "Angry Man With Tangled Christmas Lights," credit id 87622745, which was already circulating as a go-to reaction image for everyday frustration[4]. Because the original /b/ thread is anonymous, no individual meme creator is confirmed[3]. - **Platform:** 4chan /b/ (origin), Reddit and Imgur (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2009 ## Overview The image macro places bold white caption text over a ThinkStock photograph of a visibly frustrated middle-aged man wrestling with a knotted strand of Christmas lights[4]. The caption blames his everyday failure on a Jewish conspiracy, which flips the joke back onto the type of poster who actually makes that argument in earnest, in the same ironic register as the "Thanks, Obama!" format[3]. Snowclone edits keep the photo but swap the scapegoat for whichever group fits the target of the parody, as in the "I bet the patriarchy did this!" version featuring Anita Sarkeesian's face overlaid on the frustrated man[5]. A separate strain of the joke dropped the stock photo altogether and attached the catchphrase to looping sports GIFs where a player appears to mouth the words[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is "I Bet the Jews Did This"? It is an ironic image macro and catchphrase that pastes antisemitic conspiracy blame over a stock photo of an angry man with tangled Christmas lights, mocking the kind of poster who makes that argument sincerely[3]. ### Where did "I Bet the Jews Did This" come from? The earliest known captioned version was posted to 4chan's /b/ board on May 28, 2009, and archived on Chan4chan[1]. The source image is a ThinkStock photograph of a man wrestling with Christmas lights[4]. ### What does "I Bet the Jews Did This" mean? The caption is a parody of antisemitic conspiracy thinking: the poster blames Jewish people for a trivial frustration like tangled lights, which satirizes trolls who genuinely scapegoat Jewish people for their own misfortunes[3]. ### How do you use "I Bet the Jews Did This"? The format typically keeps the Christmas lights photo and the caption, or swaps the scapegoat group for a snowclone edit such as the Anita Sarkeesian "I bet the patriarchy did this!" version on /r/thankspatriarchy[6]. GIF variants attach the phrase to looping sports clips like the Cristiano Ronaldo edits[2]. ### Is "I Bet the Jews Did This" still popular? The macro peaked between 2009 and 2013 across 4chan, Reddit and Imgur[3]. It is treated as a classic /b/-era image macro, with the Ronaldo GIF and the Sarkeesian edit cited as its best-known offshoots[2][6]. ## References 1. [http://chan4chan.com/archive/21647/I_BET_THE_JEWS_DID_THIS]() 2. [https://www.reddit.com/r/gif/comments/10z2nq/the_jews_did_this/]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-bet-the-jews-did-this]() 4. [http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-photo-angry-man-with-tangled-christmas-lights/87622745]() 5. [https://imgur.com/Qk9FhL9]() 6. [https://www.reddit.com/r/thankspatriarchy/comments/1c0uxr/the_patriarchy_strikes_again/]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/i-bet-the-jews-did-this Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library