# Spreading Misinformation Spreading Misinformation is a joke format where posters cheerfully admit to publishing false claims online for laughs, with the admission itself as the punchline. The format first appeared across Facebook and iFunny in 2020 before breaking out in February 2021 through a Blue Emoji redraw of the Laughing Squidward GIF. By April 2022, Twitter users were replying to their own fake trivia with Mercy Offers a Hand edits that confessed the bit. ## Origin On June 21, 2020, Facebook user Hueso Regreso made the earliest found meme in the format, joking that making Sam Hyde Did It attribution memes is itself a form of enjoyable misinformation. The post reached over 200 reactions and 410 shares within two years[1]. The next day, the Facebook page I Made This Page To Shitpost Obscure Doge Images IX reposted it and picked up over 510 reactions[2]. A second strand appeared later that year. Before November 27, 2020, an unknown iFunny user made a GIF caption on the Squidward Laughing GIF reading 'When I purposefully spread misinformation over the internet'[4]. On November 27, Instagram user dealership._ reposted the GIF as a still image, which reached over 2,700 likes in two years[3]. - **Platform:** Facebook / iFunny (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2020 ## Overview Most posts in the format pair a laughing or smug visual with a caption where the poster happily owns up to lying on purpose. A common template uses a frozen frame of the Squidward Laughing GIF or its Blue Emoji redraw, captioned 'When I purposefully spread misinformation over the internet'[3]. Video captions swap in a smirking character narrating fabricated trivia or pointing at deliberately wrong 'facts', which gave the format a second life on iFunny and Instagram[8]. The joke rides on the poster's willingness to be dishonest for comedy rather than on any particular lie, so the template works just as well as a self-reply. Users will post an outlandish claim and then quote-reply themselves with a Squidward caption that confesses the trick[5]. Related jokes including Sam Hyde Did It attribution gags[1] and Mercy Offers a Hand edits[10] stretch the bit into other formats while keeping the same self-aware admission. ## How to Use Posters typically take a laughing or smug image, such as the Squidward Laughing GIF, the Blue Emoji variant, or a Mercy Offers a Hand screenshot, and caption it with something like 'When I purposefully spread misinformation over the internet.' A common move is to drop an obviously false claim in one post and self-reply with the image, owning the bit. Video edits often add a character narrating a fake 'fact' to the camera. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Spreading Misinformation? It is a joke format where posters admit, with visible glee, to publishing false claims online for entertainment, usually paired with a laughing image such as the Squidward Laughing GIF or a Blue Emoji redraw[4][5]. ### Where did Spreading Misinformation come from? The earliest known meme came from Facebook user Hueso Regreso on June 21, 2020[1], while the iFunny Squidward caption strand appeared before November 27, 2020 and was reposted to Instagram by dealership._[3]. ### What does Spreading Misinformation mean? In meme form, it treats deliberately posting false claims online as a hobby or source of fun, with the confession of lying being the actual joke rather than any specific lie[4]. ### How do you use Spreading Misinformation? Posters typically share an obviously false claim and self-reply with a Laughing Squidward, Blue Emoji, or Mercy Offers a Hand image captioned about purposely spreading misinformation online[5][10]. ### Is Spreading Misinformation still popular? The trend peaked in April 2022 according to Know Your Meme[4], and the Squidward caption and its remakes are still circulated as self-replies to misinformation posts[10]. ## References 1. [https://www.facebook.com/huesoregreso/posts/2810205622441556]() 2. [https://www.facebook.com/obscuredoge9/posts/851521318590772]() 3. [https://www.instagram.com/p/CIFhe_usYeN/]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/spreading-misinformation]() 5. [https://ifunny.co/picture/5XzYiKrO8]() 6. [https://www.reddit.com/r/okbuddyretard/comments/lu7ftn/cm_come/]() 7. [https://www.instagram.com/p/CLt3USjFXbN/]() 8. [https://www.instagram.com/p/CM3NAWHgoYR/]() 9. [https://ifunny.co/video/8ZQ7L4ig8]() 10. [https://twitter.com/_troIlface/status/1445894609037631488]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/spreading-misinformation Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library