What is They Brainwashed You?

It's an exploitable image macro showing two restroom-sign figures, where one tells the other 'They brainwashed you' and the second replies 'Really?,' turning the accusation back around.

Where did They Brainwashed You come from?

The Spanish-speaking Catholic Facebook page Memes Bautistas Cristianos posted the original on November 21st, 2019, captioned 'Te Lavaron El Celebro… / ¿Te Parece?'.

What does They Brainwashed You mean?

The joke suggests that whoever makes the brainwashing accusation is often the one actually under its influence, with creators labeling the two figures with opposing views.

How do you use They Brainwashed You?

Edit the two restroom icons with contrasting labels, like political ideologies or hobby groups, so the figure making the accusation is implied to be the one who's really brainwashed.

Is They Brainwashed You still popular?

The template saw heavy use through 2021 in English-speaking meme circles like r/OkBuddyRetard, though its biggest moments stayed in Spanish and Portuguese Facebook communities around 2019.

They Brainwashed You

2019image macrodeclining

Published October 29, 2026

They Brainwashed You is an exploitable two-figure image where one restroom-icon character accuses the other of being brainwashed, and the second flips the charge back with a smug 'Really?' Spanish-speaking Catholic Facebook page Memes Bautistas Cristianos posted the original in November 20191, contrasting progressive and conservative values. By June 2021, English edits reached r/OkBuddyRetard with ironic takes claiming Irish people aren't real8.

exploitable templates object labeling spanish origin memes backfire memes two panel memes

Overview

They Brainwashed You edits rely on object labeling. Creators tag each restroom figure with opposing symbols, slogans, or group names, so the character who throws the accusation is exposed as the one actually brainwashed. Early Spanish and Portuguese versions kept religious or political contrasts, pitting progressivism against Catholic tradition2.

As the image moved into English, the format shed its ideological roots. Instagram user woodworkingirony applied the joke to amateur carpentry in February 20217, and later Reddit edits ran it on nationalities and absurd claims8. The humor rests on the second figure's blank confidence, since whichever side insists the other is brainwashed, the viewer reads the responder as either the one with real self-awareness or the oblivious true believer, depending on which labels the creator picks5.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Facebook (Spanish-speaking Catholic pages) / Reddit (English spread)

Creator

Memes Bautistas Cristianos

Date

2019

Spanish-speaking Facebook page Memes Bautistas Cristianos posted the first known version on November 21st, 2019, captioned 'Te Lavaron El Celebro… / ¿Te Parece?' (translated from Spanish: 'They Brainwashed You / Really?')1. One day later, Brazilian Catholic Facebook page Catholicum Regnum reposted a Portuguese translation that picked up over 400 reactions and about 2,400 shares2. Know Your Meme later documented both posts as the origin of the format5.

How It Spread

Spanish and Portuguese meme-makers kept remixing the image through late 2019. Facebook user Johann Garcia posted an ironic variant that gathered more than 550 likes3, and on November 28th, 2019, Twitter account @brazilianboomer reposted the format and earned around 2,300 likes4.

English-language use of They Brainwashed You picked up on January 16th, 2021, when Facebook page The Barony published the first known English translation6. That post itself got only five reactions, but the template took off in later edits. On February 20th, 2021, Instagram page woodworkingirony applied the setup to a woodworking joke that earned over 250 likes7. On June 30th, 2021, Redditor Agent-Monkey posted an 'Irish people aren't real' version to r/OkBuddyRetard that collected around 3,400 upvotes8.

Timeline

2019-11-21

Memes Bautistas Cristianos posts the original Spanish version on Facebook, captioned 'Te Lavaron El Celebro… / ¿Te Parece?'

2019-11-22

Brazilian Catholic page Catholicum Regnum reposts a Portuguese translation.

2019-11-28

Twitter account @brazilianboomer reposts the template, earning around 2,300 likes.

2021-01-16

Facebook page The Barony publishes the first known English translation.

2021-02-20

Instagram page woodworkingirony posts an ironic woodworking remix.

2021-06-30

Redditor Agent-Monkey posts an 'Irish people aren't real' version to r/OkBuddyRetard, collecting around 3,400 upvotes.

How to Use This Meme

To make a They Brainwashed You edit, creators object label the two restroom figures with contrasting identities, ideologies, or groups. The figure on the left typically throws the 'brainwashed' accusation while the figure on the right responds with 'Really?' The joke often targets whichever side the creator thinks lacks self-awareness, with early Spanish versions mocking wokeness and later English remixes applying the same beat to niche interests or absurd claims5.