About

Meerkat With a Toothpick or Smirking Toothpick Meerkat is an AI-generated reaction image of a smirking meerkat with a toothpick in his mouth leaning against a brick wall, sometimes wearing a flat cap. The image appears to have been made using Grok and started going viral on sites like Facebook and X / Twitter in late May 2025, becoming increasingly popularized throughout June. The meme is notably prevalent in online circles in Africa.

Origin

It is unconfirmed when the meme was first shared online. On May 25th, 2025, X^[1] user @adsonlinho posted the meme under the caption, "Sandro Tonali convinced the whole board of Newcastle and sold off the game," garnering about nine likes in a month. This is one of the earliest known examples of the meme, but may not be the first.

Spread

The image garnered viral spread over the following weeks, largely among African social media users. On May 28th, 2025, X^[2] user @RaymondMukazika posted it under the caption, "Can a man be rejected by a maid in his house?🤔" garnering over 340 likes in a month.

On May 31st, Facebook^[3] user Maz Mkhize posted the image under the caption, "Just dropped my kids off at my sister's house & then blocked her," garnering over 17,000 reactions and 800 shares in a month.

On June 11th, Facebook^[4] page Zed Car Memes posted the image, captioned, "Your BMW mechanic watching you drive off knowing you will Be back after a few days," garnering over 11,000 reactions and 625 shares in two weeks.

On June 21st, 2025, X^[5] user @Its_Lissa_M posted the meme, writing, "Your mother watching you call the garden boy 'malume,' knowing very well that he's your real father," garnering over 1,000 likes in five days.

On June 24th, the Mulamwah Facebook^[6] page posted a Swahili version of the meme that gained over 17,000 reactions in two days.

On the same day, X^[7] user @Dharmilolarr01 posted a version of the meme reading, "K!dnappers watching Nasboi going from one state to another 🌚( allegedly o )," garnering over 16,000 likes in two days. Later, X^[8] user @hashtagtweets posted a version of the meme reading, "Generator rope watching you pour petrol by 10PM😂," garnering over 28,000 likes in two days.

Later on June 21st, 2025, X^[9] user @UTDKara made a post claiming that Portuguese football player Bruno Fernandes recreated the image, garnering over 4,800 likes in two days.

On June 25th, X^[10] user @arojinle1 posted the image in response to someone writing, "I’m blocking the next person that tweets that dog picture on my TL," garnering over 4,800 likes in a day.

Various Examples

Templates

Search Interest

External References