# Misinformationalized A 2010 Ctrl+Alt+Del comic in which GameHaven owner Ethan rants at a customer about video game rumors got chopped into a two-panel reaction image where he just throws his arms up in exasperation[1]. By 2015, Tumblr users were pasting Shovel Knight characters and other mascots into Ethan's silhouette and using the edit as a general-purpose freakout image[2]. ## Origin Cartoonist Tim Buckley posted the original Misinformationalized strip to the Ctrl+Alt+Del website on November 19, 2010, as part of the ongoing GameHaven storyline[1]. In the full comic, Ethan grills a customer about why rumors should not be trusted and ends with his arms raised in frustration, a pose that reads as a stock exasperation gesture once the preceding dialogue is cut[1]. The exact origin of the first edited version is undocumented, though speculation points to 4chan as the likely birthplace of the trimmed two-panel template[2]. An archived post from January 16, 2012, on the British hardware forum Overclockers UK is the earliest known appearance of the two-panel edition being used as a situational reaction image[2]. - **Platform:** Ctrl+Alt+Del webcomic / 4chan and Tumblr (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2010 ## Overview Misinformationalized, also known as You Hear About Video Games?, is a two-panel reaction image carved out of a Ctrl+Alt+Del strip where GameHaven store owner Ethan lectures a customer about unverified gaming rumors[2]. Editors stripped out the original dialogue and middle panels, keeping only the opening question and Ethan's final arms-in-the-air flail, which reads as pure exasperation when divorced from the context of a video game screed[1]. Typical edits replace the first panel's dialogue with any mundane conversation starter, so Ethan's dramatic reaction becomes a punchline about being asked for the time, hearing a hot take, or receiving minor news[2]. The joke lands because Ethan's gesture is wildly disproportionate to whatever setup the editor pastes in, which doubles as a jab at the original comic's earnest treatment of gaming message board drama[2]. ## How It Spread After the Overclockers UK sighting in early 2012, the two-panel cut circulated as a general-use reaction image on forums and image boards whenever someone wanted to show a mock overreaction to a trivial question[2]. The format benefited from being source-agnostic since the surrounding comic context fell away, meaning posters who had never read Ctrl+Alt+Del could still deploy it without explanation[2]. On December 2, 2015, Tumblr user acedefectiveinvestigations published a redraw that put Shovel Knight antagonist Plague Knight in Ethan's pose, and the post picked up more than 2,400 notes over the following six months[2]. That Plague Knight edition kicked off a run of character-swap variations on Tumblr, where fandoms slotted their own favorite characters into the exasperation pose and tagged posts under You Hear About Video Games?[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Misinformationalized? A two-panel reaction image edit of a Ctrl+Alt+Del comic in which Ethan throws his arms up after being asked about video games, used to signal mock frustration at a mundane question[2]. ### Where did Misinformationalized come from? The original strip was posted by Tim Buckley to Ctrl+Alt+Del on November 19, 2010, and edited reaction versions started circulating by 2012[1]. ### What does Misinformationalized mean? Misinformationalized was the title of the source comic about video game rumors, and the meme name You Hear About Video Games? comes from Ethan's opening line in the strip[1]. ### How do you use Misinformationalized? Posters typically swap the first panel's dialogue with any trivial question or statement, letting Ethan's second-panel flail stand in as a disproportionate reaction[2]. ### Is Misinformationalized still popular? The two-panel edit is a classic reaction image rather than a currently trending format, with its biggest documented wave of variations landing on Tumblr around 2015 to 2016[2]. ## References 1. [https://cad-comic.com/cad-shadowbane-saturday/20101119/]() 2. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/misinformationalized-you-hear-about-video-games]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/misinformationalized-you-hear-about-video-games Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library