About

You Have Been Selected to Be Exposed refers to a catchphrase used by several YouTubers on X / Twitter to notify their followers that an exposé of a certain famous person is coming. First popularized in June 2023 by controversial commentator Dom Lucre, the catchphrase has since been popularized as a caption for images that expose, or seem to expose, various individuals and characters.

Origin

On June 5th, 2023, YouTuber and commentator Dom Lucre (@dom_lucre) posted a photograph of writer Stephen King, writing, "Dear Stephen King, you have been selected to be exposed." The post (shown below) received over 4,100 reposts and 38,000 likes on X^[1] / Twitter in one year. No further posts on Stephen King from Dom Lucre followed the post.

Spread

In the following week, Dom Lucre used the phrase "you have been selected to be exposed" in more posts^[2][3][4] about famous individuals, including actor Tom Hanks, politician and activist Michelle Obama, and actor Leonardo Di Caprio. The post about Michelle Obama (shown below, left) garnered over 7,300 reposts and 49,000 likes in one year.

Following the popularization of the catchphrase by Dom Lucre, other YouTubers and internet personalities used it in their posts. For example, on January 5th, 2024, X^[5] user @shaneyyricch posted a photograph of Jimmy Kimmel wearing blackface in a skit from 2000 captioned with the phrase. The post (shown below, left) gained over 1,000 reposts and 8,500 likes in seven months.

On April 20th, influencer Matt Wallace (@MattWallace888) used the caption with a photograph of former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence containing an optical illusion, with the post (shown below, right) garnering over 5,100 reposts and 50,000 likes on X^[6] in four months.

The catchphrase saw more use through 2024, with posts containing it often going viral at times when famous individuals sparked controversy online. The catchphrase has also been used as a humorous caption in memes.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References