Leaves The Scene After Spreading Misinformation

Submission 4,505

Part of a series on Spreading Misinformation. [View Related Entries]

Worcestershire Sauce - Jun 17, 2023 X @sickcroww30 - Follow WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S THE FIRST COMIC THAT USES THE MOVIE DESIGN AND HE'S ALREADY DEAD?! Worcestershire Sauce @sickcroww30 - Follow PAVITR NO. [Leaves the scene after spreading misinformation] 2:46 PM -Jun 17, 2023

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My Name Is James @_JamesGtfo - Follow I love whoever made that Al art of Trump getting arrested [Leaves the scene after spreading misinformation] X 12:30 PM - Mar 21, 2023 Ⓡ

Perry's SALE Taking Back Saturday @takingbacksatau . Follow Me after I share posts about any bands releasing new music without fact checking at all [Leaves the scene after spreading misinformation] 2:16 AM Jun 22, 2022 Xx

Jun 14, 2022 @mazzypopstar Follow Just found out Charli XCX is Cher's actual niece STAGE iknkinnikkni @kingotheweeknd Follow [Leaves the scene after spreading misinformation] 6:42 AM - Jun 14, 2022 X O

Fitoria - Jul 15, 2023 @fitoria_alves Follow Montando o berço do neném Fitoria @fitoria_alves - Follow [Leaves the scene after spreading misinformation] 11:37 AM - Jul 15, 2023 X

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About

Leaves The Scene After Spreading Misinformation refers to an image macro of the mobile game Merge Mansion character Grandma Ursula, in which she is riding a car paired with the descriptive audio caption [leaves the scene after spreading misinformation]. In online conversations, the descriptive audio caption is typically used to convey the activity of spreading lies and falsehoods on purpose. Starting in 2022, memes describing the practice of spreading misinformation as joyful mischief gained virality on Twitter (X) and have often been used as a reply to own posts containing lies or a certain degree of misinformation.

Origin

The image macro used in the meme is derived from an ad for the mobile game Merge Mansion^[1], which is a puzzle game where the player completes tasks as the character, Maddie, whose grandmother (Grandma Ursula) owns the mansion. In one particular promotional video, Grandma Ursula is arrested (shown below) and taken to the police station. The earliest video showing the scene was posted on March 2nd, 2022, by YouTube^[2] by user @danix6715. The video garnered over 91,000 views and 1,000 likes in a year.

Although the exact origin of the meme is unclear, around June 2022 the promotional clip featuring Grandma Ursula was photoshopped to look like the character was driving the car, fleeing from a crime scene. On August 28th, 2022, X^[3] user posted the image macro paired with the descriptive audio caption [leaves the scene after spreading misinformation], which amassed over 1,200 likes and 147 retweets in a year.

Spread

The image received viral spread in the following months, being mostly used as a reaction image to convey or accuse someone of the activity of spreading lies and fakes news on social media. For instance, on July 15th, 2023, X^[4] user posted the meme as a response to a previous post about her partner assembling the baby's crib (shown below, left), which received over 310 likes in three months. On June 14th, 2022, X^[5] user @kingotheweeknd replied to a tweet claiming singer Charli XCX is Cher's niece using the [leaves the scene after spreading misinformation] meme (shown below, right). The post garnered over 1,400 likes and 32 retweets in a year.