My Child Will X

About

My Child Will X is an exploitable comparison format in which Satan and Jesus both provide a commandment for their follower, with Satan asking something morally correct, while Jesus advises something that would be perceived as morally wrong. In January 2022, the format achieved virality online as a vehicle for sharing QR codes linking pirated copies of software and media.

Origin

Between February and August 2017, an unknown African Facebook page, ayanfe, posted three similar two-panel image macros with Jesus and Satan alongside a caption in Swahili (shown below). In the macros, Jesus said that his child would type "amen" in the comments, with the Devil responding that his child would do no such thing.

- My child will type amen to proud of me.
- Hahaha… No I trust mine mine will ignore fast.

The earliest found reposts of the first and the second images were made on February 27th, 2017, and March 25th, 2017, on Facebook.^[1][2]

On August 11th, 2017, Nigerian Facebook^[3] page Starvic Empire Media made the earliest found repost of the third image, with the post gaining over 540 likes, 1,200 comments and 870 shares in five years.

Spread

In the following months, the image saw viral spread online through reposts. For example, on August 19th, 2017, Facebook^[4] page Jesus; our savior reposted the image, with the post gaining over 420 reactions and 170 shares in five years. On September 9th, 2017, Facebook^[5] page Thony Kobo Oije reposted the image, with the post gaining over 480 reactions and 680 shares in five years.

Prior to January 15th, 2019, an unknown user created the earliest found edit of the image, recaptioning it "My child will type the N-word." On January 15th, iFunny^[6] user im_josugay_2015 made the earliest discovered repost of the image (shown below). A repost of the image made by iFunny^[7] user studerish on July 29th, 2019, gained over 190 smiles.

Following the viral spread of the first edit, more recaptioned versions of the image started to appear. For example, on March 23rd, 2019, Redditor^[8] Paxoxujy reposted one version to the /r/4PanelCringe subreddit (shown below, left). On February 18th, 2020, iFunny^[9] user PooChomper posted a Benis meme that gained 13 smiles and 36 replies in two years (shown below, center).

In May 2020, a version of the meme in which Jesus asked his followers to post their credit card information gained viral spread. For example, a May 7th post by Tumblr^[10] user marxist-kira-nerys received over 4,100 likes and reblogs in two years (shown below, right).

Through late 2020 and early 2021, the format achieved moderate virality on iFunny, with several high-engagement versions being posted during that period. On March 10th, 2021, Twitter^[11] user @saeeddicaprio shared a conversation with their brother in which he used the meme to coerce his brother into ordering a pizza. The post gained over 4,000 retweets and 35,900 likes in one year.

The format started climbing to virality in late October 2021, after iFunny^[12] user GoFvckYourself posted a meme on October 29th in which Jesus advised violent resistance when approached by a traffic officer. The post received over 12,500 smiles in three months (shown below, left).

The tweet was followed by a series of memes propagating violent resistance and usage of prohibited weapons shared by users on iFunny, Tumblr and Facebook in November and December (images shown below, center). An image in which Jesus advises using a booby trap inside one's apartment gained particular prominence in December 2021 (shown below, right). The earliest found post of the image was made by Facebook^[13] page H/k/33E on December 4th, 2021.

December 8th and 10th reposts of the image by Tumblr^[14] user crazy-brazilian and Instagram^[15] user schizo_posting gained over 5,300 likes and reblogs and 6,400 likes in one month, respectively.

Following the viral spread of the booby trap post, starting in mid-December 2021, the format achieved viral status on Twitter. The popularity of the format was further boosted after it was used as base template for QRposting in early January 2021.

QRposting

QRposting refers to a practice of editing QR codes containing links to pirate copies of software, video games and other media into memes. In early January 2021, the trend, which mostly utilizes Barnacle Boy Sulphur Vision and My Child Will X formats, gained viral popularity on Twitter.

Various Examples

Templates

Search Interest

External References