# Internets "Internets" is the mangled plural of "internet" that George W. Bush blurted out during the 2004 presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, instantly launching a bipartisan running joke about political tech illiteracy. The gaffe was recycled by YTMND, Urban Dictionary, and Saturday Night Live within 24 hours, and became shorthand for anyone pretending to understand computers. ## Origin Bush actually said "internets" earlier, during the third Bush-Gore debate at Washington University in St. Louis on October 17th, 2000, but almost no one noticed at the time[1]. The version that stuck came four years later at the same venue: on October 8th, 2004, debating Senator John Kerry, Bush said he had heard "rumors on the internets" about a possible military draft[3]. The televised clip is preserved on YouTube and became the audio bed for most of the jokes that followed[5]. Within hours the internet pounced. Urban Dictionary user CSD filed an entry mocking the debate line the same day, defining "internets" as the plural Bush apparently believed in[2]. - **Platform:** Presidential debate (TV) / YTMND (viral spread) - **Creator:** George W. Bush - **Date:** 2004 ## Overview "Internets" is the wrong plural form of "internet," repeated on national television by President George W. Bush and immediately seized on as proof that the sitting commander in chief did not really know what the internet was[1]. The word is used two ways online. First, as a direct Bush impression, usually stapled to the phrase "rumors on the internets" lifted straight from his 2004 debate answer[1]. Second, as a generic self-deprecating tag people slap on posts to signal they are being goofy or old, as in "lol internets," a usage Urban Dictionary flagged the same night Bush said it[2]. The humor sits alongside Ted Stevens' "series of tubes" line as one of the go-to references for out-of-touch politicians talking about the web[3]. Because the joke is a single mispronounced word, it travels easily across image macros, T-shirts, and YTMND pages without needing much setup[4]. ## How It Spread Also on October 8th, 2004, YTMND user Quiksilver272 uploaded a page titled "Internets" pairing a photo of Bush with the caption "Ha Ha! I'm using the Internets!" and a loop of the debate audio, kicking off at least eight YTMND pages built around the word[1]. The next night, Saturday Night Live aired a cold-open sketch spoofing the debate that leaned on the gaffe[1]. Over the following weeks cable hosts including Keith Olbermann and Stephen Colbert used "internets" on air as a running dig, and copies of the debate clip spread to YouTube and AlbinoBlackSheep[1]. On October 27th, 2006, YouTuber futurecam posted "The Internets and The Google," a CNN segment stitching the gaffe together with Bush's later "the Google" remark[1]. Bush obliged the joke a third time on May 2nd, 2007, saying "internets" again while talking to White House reporters about online news, a clip Attention101 clipped from The Chris Matthews Show four days later[1]. The bit outlived the Bush presidency. On July 6th, 2011, President Barack Obama used "internets" during a Twitter Town Hall and then corrected himself mid-sentence, giving commentators a fresh excuse to replay the whole joke[1]. ## How to Use People typically drop "internets" (plural) into a sentence to mock either their own tech cluelessness or somebody else's, often paired with the full "rumors on the internets" line to make the Bush reference explicit[2]. A common convention is the throwaway tag "lol internets" appended to a screenshot of something absurd online[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Internets? "Internets" is a catchphrase built on President George W. Bush's incorrect plural of "internet," used to mock political tech illiteracy or to signal self-aware goofiness online[1]. ### Where did Internets come from? Bush first said it at the October 17th, 2000 debate at Washington University in St. Louis and repeated it at the same venue on October 8th, 2004 against John Kerry, which is the version that went viral[1][3]. ### What does Internets mean? Literally it is a nonstandard plural of "internet"; as a meme it is a stand-in for anyone who talks about the web without really understanding it, like Ted Stevens' "series of tubes"[3]. ### How do you use Internets? Most people quote the exact Bush line "rumors on the internets" or drop a "lol internets" caption on absurd online content, a usage Urban Dictionary logged the same day Bush said it[2]. ### Is Internets still popular? It is a classic 2000s joke rather than a currently trending format, still referenced whenever a politician fumbles a tech term, and it got a boost when President Obama repeated the mistake at a 2011 Twitter Town Hall[1]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKTH6f1JfX8]() 2. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Internets]() 3. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_of_tubes]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/internets]() 5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MunMCO3uNdA]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/internets Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library