About

Those Who Know 💀 is an object-label caption commonly used in so-called "sigma phonk edits" that highlights a group of individuals who are aware of the meme's hidden meaning. The individuals are often represented by "sigma" characters and symbols like Trollge, Phonk Trollge, AI Rick Laughing, The Jonkler and Lightning Eyes Patrick Bateman. These characters are predominantly creepy and chaotic, indicating that "those who know" are disturbed yet powerful because they're aware of what makes the media in question "sigma" or creepy. Those Who Know was originally used in the Traumatized Mr. Incredible meme, also known as Mr. Incredible Becoming Uncanny. By 2024, usage of Those Who Know 💀 had become increasingly ironic as a way to satirize the oversaturation of sigma edits on Instagram and TikTok, which many dubbed brainrot and cringe.

Origin

On September 5th, 2021, Redditor^[1] Dapper_Dildo posted a four-panel Table-Kun meme to the subreddit /r/Animemes that used the Traumatized Mr. Incredible format, with the panels captioned "People who don't know" and "People who know." The post received over 10,000 upvotes in three years (shown below).

On September 19th, 2021, Twitter / X^[2] user @tchncllytru tweeted an iteration of the abovementioned format, making a joke about Medusa. The meme instead used, "Those who know" and "Those who don't know," receiving over 113,900 likes in a day (shown below). The post has since been deleted.

Spread

Going into the 2020s, usage of Those Who Know became increasingly common in so-called sigma edits. For instance, on December 23rd, 2023, Instagram^[3] users @kotakibaat and @tsvkota posted a Reel that was a Patrick Bateman edit in which Bateman was labeled "Those Who Know," gaining over 648,400 likes in nine months (shown below).

Similar Reels continued in 2024, such as one shared by Instagram^[4] users @fearless_force.01 and @thedebunkeryt on August 4th, 2024, which labeled the XqcDespair format "Those Who Know 💀," gaining over 462,500 likes in a month (shown below).

During the same timeframe, the Twitter / X gimmick account @creepydotorg started sharing tweets^[5][6] that used "Those who know" as the caption. The tweets included scenes from notable shock media.

Going into late 2024, the usage of "Those Who Know 💀" became increasingly ironic. For instance, on July 28th, TikToker^[7] @multiversethreat posted a Brainrot edit using the IShowSpeed At Ballon d'Or video, The Jonkler and Never Goon Minions that included text overlay reading, "Those who know." The video received over 6.5 million plays and 962,300 likes in two months (shown below).

On September 8th, 2024, X^[8] user @fallenchungus posted a recaptioned Trollge meme that added a crude joke about throwing excrement, gaining over 3,700 likes in two days (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References