Submission 21,251

Benjy Sarlin @BenjySarlin As for the First Lady's own immigration history, she's scheduled to give a press conference explaining it all in detail in [checks notes] negative two years cnn.com/2016/08/09/pol... CAN politics Live TV Melania Trump will address immigration controversy, Donald Trump says By Jeremy Diamond, CNN Updated 8:06 PM EDT, Tue August 09, 2016 8:17 PM Aug 9, 2018 Twitter for iPhone

Aaron Rupar @atrupar Sanders' defense of Trump against charges of racism is that he insults everyone, not just black people. She also cites fact that Democrats took campaign contributions from his as evidence that [checks notes]. Trump is not racist THE WHITE HOUSE 3:16 PM HE W HOUSE ON EWS FIRST WH BRIEFING SINCE OMAROSA CLAIMS, RECORDINGS BREAKING NEWS 2:19 VE 3:20 PM Aug 14, 2018 Twitter Web Client

Frank Luntz @FrankLuntz Jim @Acosta "doesn't want to be the story," hence why he's staying low-key by [checks notes] appearing on the top-rated late night TV show. Jim Acosta to Stephen Colbert: I don't want to 'be the sto CNN's Jim Acosta insisted Wednesday night to late-night TV host Stephen Colbert that it's not his goal to make headlines when he shouts aggressive .. washingtontimes.com 2:53 PM Aug 9, 2018 Twitter for iPhone

9 V OLT @9_volt yes, how will i explain *checks notes* two people holding hands to my children??!? HappyWulf TheQuartering TheQuartering @HappyWulf Replying to @shoeOnhead and @TheQuartering You're crazy! This kids cartoon is It doesn't have to be so blatant. In totally not about pushing politics and ideology! It's just not for you! She-Ra these shows their always all over each other or constantly holding hands, tOth icast watch heam bt in aly cing tHEYREALLY SAD GA GH glued to the hip, pressing themselves into the other's chest Why can't they just be people? Hank Hill, who is a parody of blue collar, is not always slapping Peggy's ass 11/14/18, 1:16 AM 2 Retweets 20 Likes 7:45 AM Nov 14, 2018 Twitter for iPhone

Zach Buchanan Follow @ZHBuchanan Sansa, two episodes ago: Hmm, what if my brother was on the Iron Throne instead Sansa, in the finale: The North will not consent to be ruled by *checks notes* my brother 8:45 PM - 19 May 2019

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About

Checks Notes is a phrase used in tweets which make a joke about contradictory pieces of information. In the set up, a person opens with a statement as though they were presenting a piece of information to a crowd, writes "checks notes" in asterisks, suggesting that they're confirming the ridiculousness of the statement they're about to make, and ends with a contradictory piece of information.

Origin

The first tweet to use this format was tweeted December 25th, 2018, by user @Sween, gaining 2 retweets and 10 likes.^[1]

Jason Sweeney @sween Is it wrong to say that the world right now feels like George Bailey was never born? [Checks notes.] Nope. 9:44 AM Dec 25, 2008 Twitter Web Client

Spread

The format began seeing more popular use, in the mid 2010s. Some popular examples from that time include tweets by @jonnysun^[2] posted June 7th, 2013 that gained over 600 retweets and 6,100 likes (shown below, left). On July 17th, 2017, Dril tweeted a variation on the joke that gained over 1,000 retweets and 5,100 likes^[3] (shown below, right).

jonny sun @jonnysun ahem* there are two types of peopel in this world: peopel, and.. um *calmley checks notes* ah yes. ther is one type of peopel in this world 8:40 PM Jun 7, 2013 Twitter for iPhone

wint @dril been reckon ive been thinking about heading on up to the big city to (reading note card) to get my "Ass Clowned" 11:44 PM Jul 17, 2017 Twitter Web Client .

Slate^[4] argued in 2018 that the meme saw an increase in use following Donald Trump's election as people used it to discuss various contradictory pieces of information in the Trump administration. For example, it was used August 15th, 2018 by Vox.com^[5] in a tweet about Rick Perry (shown below, left). Slate also argued that the meme should die out because it was overdone and that it had sexist undertones. On June 4th, 2019, the meme was covered by Daily Dot,^[6] who also talked about its use in recent Game of Thrones discourse. For example, a tweet using the format posted by @bnlinden^[7] about the show's handling of female characters gained over 350 retweets and 1,200 likes (shown below, right). The phrase also has a page on TheFreeDictionary.^[8]

Vox Vox@voxdotcom Here's a surprisingly sensible take on energy subsidies, courtesy of [checks notes] Rick Perry? Rick Perry tells the truth about energy subsidies, contradicting his boss All energy is subsidized, he says. "Pick good!" vox.com 3:10 PM Aug 15, 2018 Vox Media

Brianna Linden @bnlinden Sansa: attributes her character growth to being r---- and abused Brienne: is now a desperate rom-com character Missandei: the show's only Black woman character and is *checks notes* murdered while in chains GIF 11:22 PM May 5, 2019 Twitter for iPhone

Various Examples

Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein Gov't: Sorry we can't give you healthcare, we had to stick to absolute necessities like [checks notes] a Space Force 12:56 PM Aug 9, 2018 Twitter Web Client

Search Interest

External References

^[1] Twitter – @sween

^[2] Twitter – @jonnysun

^[3] Twitter – @dril

^[4] Slate – Checks Notes Was the Perfect Trump-Era Twitter Joke. Can We Be Done With It Now?

^[5] Twitter – Vox

^[6] Daily Dot – How ‘checks notes’ became the delightfully sarcastic meme that 'checks notes' simply will not die

^[7] Twitter – @bnlinden

^[8] The Free Dictionary – Checks Notes*

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