What is Zuckerberg Note Pass?

It's a three-panel exploitable image macro using screenshots from *The Social Network* (2010), showing a girl passing a note to Mark Zuckerberg in a lecture hall. Creators edit the note's text to make jokes.

Where did Zuckerberg Note Pass come from?

The format first appeared on Canv.as in early 2011, using screenshots from the David Fincher film *The Social Network*.

What does Zuckerberg Note Pass mean?

The meme plays on the contrast between the girl's disgusted expression, whatever message is written on the note, and Zuckerberg's flat reaction. It's used to deliver punchlines, insults, or absurd commands.

How do you use Zuckerberg Note Pass?

Keep the top and bottom panels as-is and replace the text on the note in the middle panel with your own message. The humor comes from the unexpected content of the note paired with the characters' expressions.

Is Zuckerberg Note Pass still popular?

No. The meme peaked in 2011-2012 during the height of multi-panel exploitable formats and is no longer in active circulation.

Who plays Mark Zuckerberg in the meme?

Jesse Eisenberg, who earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Zuckerberg in *The Social Network*.

What is the "Make a Gorilla Face" version?

It was the first widely shared instance, posted to Reddit on March 31, 2011, where the note instructs Zuckerberg to make a gorilla face.

Canv.as was an image-sharing and remixing community where the Zuckerberg Note Pass format first appeared before spreading to Reddit.

How is this related to the Machine Code meme?

Both memes use a similar three-panel vertical format with a text reveal in the middle. The Zuckerberg Note Pass was directly compared to Machine Code when it first appeared.

Zuckerberg Note Pass

2011Exploitable image macro (multi-panel)dead

Published March 24, 2026

Also known as: Zuckerberg Note · Social Network Note Pass

Zuckerberg Note Pass is a three-panel exploitable image macro taken from a lecture hall scene in the 2010 film *The Social Network*. The format first surfaced on Canv.as in early 2011 before spreading through Reddit and other platforms on March 31, 20111. The template follows a simple setup: a girl passes a note with a look of disgust, the middle panel reveals the note's message, and the bottom panel shows Jesse Eisenberg's Mark Zuckerberg reacting with a solemn expression.

exploitable templates multi panel memes celebrity reaction memes early 2010s memes tech humor memes

Overview

The Zuckerberg Note Pass meme uses three vertically stacked screenshots from a classroom scene in *The Social Network*3. In the first panel, a female student turns around with an expression of contempt or disgust. The second panel shows the contents of a folded note she passes back to Zuckerberg. The third panel captures Jesse Eisenberg's deadpan, defeated reaction after reading it3.

The format works because of the dramatic contrast between the buildup and the reveal. Creators swap out the text on the note in the middle panel to deliver a punchline, insult, or absurd instruction. The girl's preemptive look of disdain sets up the joke before the reader even sees what the note says, and Zuckerberg's flat reaction sells whatever lands in the middle3.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Canv.as (first appearance), Reddit (viral spread)

Creator

Unknown

Date

2011

The source material comes from David Fincher's *The Social Network*, released on October 1, 20102. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and was written by Aaron Sorkin2. The specific scene takes place in a Harvard lecture hall where a female classmate passes a note to Zuckerberg during class3.

The three-panel screenshot arrangement first appeared on Canv.as, an image-remixing community, in early 20113. The format drew comparisons to the Machine Code meme, another multi-panel exploitable that used a similar vertical layout with a reveal in the center3. On March 31, 2011, a version with the note reading "Make a Gorilla Face" was posted to Reddit, where it picked up traction and spread through blogs, forums, and social bookmarking sites3.

How It Spread

After the Reddit post on March 31, 2011, the "Make a Gorilla Face" version moved quickly across early-2010s internet hubs3. Social bookmarking services and humor blogs picked it up, driving the template into wider use. The format fit neatly into the exploitable meme ecosystem of 2011, where multi-panel image macros with swappable text were a dominant format1.

The meme benefited from *The Social Network*'s cultural visibility. The film had earned over $224 million worldwide and won three Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Sorkin's script2. Jesse Eisenberg's performance earned a Best Actor nomination at the 83rd Academy Awards2. That recognition meant audiences instantly recognized the characters in the panels, giving the meme built-in context without explanation.

As an exploitable, the Zuckerberg Note Pass followed the same lifecycle as many early-2010s image macros. Creators on Reddit, Tumblr, and various forums produced variations with different note contents throughout 2011 and 20123. The format's three-panel structure made it easy to edit: only the middle panel needed to change1. Like other memes of its era, it competed for attention in a crowded landscape of advice animals, rage comics, and similar exploitables.

How to Use This Meme

The format typically follows three steps:

Top panel: The girl turning around with a judgmental or disgusted expression. This stays the same across all versions.

Middle panel: The note itself, with custom text replacing the original message. This is where the joke goes. Common approaches include absurd commands ("Make a gorilla face"), insults, uncomfortable truths, or non-sequitur humor.

Bottom panel: Zuckerberg's stone-faced reaction after reading the note. This panel also stays the same.

Cultural Impact

The Zuckerberg Note Pass is a minor but representative example of the early-2010s exploitable meme format. It drew its power from a commercially successful film that was already embedded in popular culture2. *The Social Network* had been named the best film of 2010 by the National Board of Review and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 20242.

The meme also illustrates how internet culture repurposes dramatic film moments for comedy. The original scene plays as a small, awkward human interaction in a story about billionaire tech founders and intellectual property theft2. Stripped of context, the three panels become a blank canvas for whatever message a creator wants to deliver1.

Fun Facts

*The Social Network* was shot primarily in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Los Angeles/Pasadena, California2.

The film's score was composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails, winning the Academy Award for Best Original Score2.

A sequel titled *The Social Reckoning*, with Sorkin writing and directing, is scheduled for release on October 9, 20262.

Canv.as, where the meme first appeared, was an image-sharing and remixing platform that served as an incubator for several exploitable formats in the early 2010s3.

The "Make a Gorilla Face" version that went viral was one of several three-panel verticals posted in the style of the Machine Code meme3.

Frequently Asked Questions

References (3)

1
Internet memeencyclopedia
2
The Social Networkencyclopedia
3
Zuckerberg Note Pass - Know Your Memeencyclopedia