July 22, 2024

Does He Know Meme: The Origin and Explanation Behind It

If you have encountered the “does he know” meme or one of its derivatives, you should understand what it means to know how to react and use it delve into its origins .

Does He Know Meme: The Origin and Explanation Behind It

Memes are a fun way to interact on the internet. However, using a meme without knowing anything about it can lead to miscommunication – or simply not getting the joke. If you have encountered the “does he know” meme or one of its derivatives, you should understand what it means to know how to react and use it. Therefore, you will first need to delve into its origins and explore its spread through social media platforms.

In this blog, we will reveal what this meme means, who created it, and why it features the actor Paul Dano.

What Are “Does He Know” Memes?

These are humorous reaction memes with two all caps lines of text in thick yellow and a screenshot of a piece of media. Usually, you should add it to a comment to ask whether the original poster is aware of a particular subject of the conversation. With this meme, you can imply that you doubt the original poster understands the topic or an aspect of it. In turn, you will also imply that everyone else has this knowledge.

Other interactions of this meme, such as “What does he know” have other meanings. This meme, in particular, implies that everyone lacks the knowledge that the original poster has.

The Origins of the “Does He Know” Meme

This meme first surfaced as a thumbnail on a video on the YouTube channel hosted by Erik Voss and Jessica Clemons: New Rockstars. One of this channel's main thumbnail formats uses all caps, thick yellow lines of text over a screenshot of a piece of media. Usually, the thumbnail points to theories, Easter eggs, or breakdowns of large franchises such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This 2022 video was titled “The Batman: Does Riddler KNOW Batman = Bruce?” It discussed whether the Riddler, played by Paul Dano, was aware of Batman's true identity. Then, Tumblr and Twitter accounts started using this thumbnail to question the knowledge of other social media users.

The Rise of the “Does He Know” Meme

The Rise of the “Does He Know” Meme

In 2022, this meme became popular on Twitter and Tumblr. However, it did not start as a reaction meme. When it first appeared on YouTube, it was only an image used sincerely and with a unique message related to the Batman character: The Riddler.

Now, let’s explore its popularity across different social media platforms.

On YouTube

New Rockstars is a popular media review, breakdown, and commentary YouTube channel with over 4 million subscribers and nearly 1.9 billion views. Plus, one of their main hosts is a comedian. Therefore, when they released their Batman theory video with the (meme) thumbnail, it had everything needed to become a popular humorous meme. In fact, the original source of the meme has over 1 million views.

On Tumblr

Within months of the YouTube thumbnail creation, it gained popularity on Tumblr. When the Tumblr account “campyvillain” created a compilation of New Rockstars, he included this thumbnail. This compilation received over 15K notes (likes, reblogs, and comments), increasing its spread across the platform.

On Twitter

Later, the meme spread onto Twitter when @SohSketch used it to comment on a tweet. Their tweet gained over 270,500 likes, further spreading awareness and use of this meme.

In September 2022, there was a rise in remakes of this meme, including the “he knows” meme. This meme implied the opposite of the original meme: The original poster is aware of the subject of the topic. Then, other remakes still used screenshots of the Riddler or swapped him out with characters from other media.

Alternatively, social media users placed multiple characters in the meme or changed the font size or placement of the text. These changes also created different meanings but usually retained the sense of humor from the original meme.

How to Create a “Does He Know” or “He Knows” Meme with Realm AI

With Realm AI, you can create and alter the format of a meme to better reflect your message and target your audience.

Now, let us delve into this meme's creation process.

1. Create a Free Account

To start creating this meme, you must create an account on the Realm AI website or application. If you already have a Realm AI account, you can directly sign in.

2. Describe Your Meme Idea

After you have signed into your Realm AI account, you should describe the details of this meme. You should include the font color, number of lines of text, capitalization, background image, placement of the text, etc.

While you can describe the original meme, you can also change it. For instance, you could use the “What does he know” meme. Then, you can select another character(s) that is popular in your social circle or one that is part of the topic you are discussing. You should type this description in the text box.

3. Generate a New Rockstars-Inspired Meme

Once you have described your meme idea in the prompt box, you will need to click 'Generate'. The Realm AI will quickly create your customized meme.

4. Adjust Your Meme

Finally, you can change the meme to fit your vision better. You can even alter the style of your meme with Realm AI. This tool also has formats you can select to mix memes into a unique design. Once you are satisfied with your meme, you can export it.

Recap

Now you know that the “does he know” meme comes from a YouTube thumbnail created by the YouTube channel New Rockstars. It is a humorous meme that you can use to react to posts to call out the original poster's lack of knowledge on a topic.

Originally, the thumbnail referred to whether the Riddler character was aware of Batman's true identity. However, you can now use this meme on any topic. You can even use a meme generator such as Realm AI to remake this meme and give it a new meaning and appearance.