Everything you need to know about the Mocking SpongeBob meme: where it came from, what it means, and how to use it.

The Mocking SpongeBob meme uses a screenshot from the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Little Yellow Book" (Season 9, Episode 38, aired in 2013). The image shows SpongeBob standing in a strange, contorted pose that looks like he is imitating a chicken. The meme format took off in May 2017 when Twitter users began pairing the image with text written in alternating caps (LiKe ThIs) to convey a mocking, sarcastic tone. The alternating caps became so associated with mockery that even without the image, the text format alone conveys sarcasm. The meme became one of the most-used formats of 2017 and remains popular for its simplicity and effectiveness at conveying a specific tone.
Mocking SpongeBob represents sarcastically repeating or paraphrasing what someone has said to mock them. The alternating caps text (tHiS fOrMaT) mimics a mocking, singsong tone of voice. The meme is used to invalidate or ridicule a statement by repeating it in a deliberately obnoxious way.
Use this meme to mock a statement by repeating it in alternating caps. Take something someone said seriously and rephrase it in the mocking format to show you think it is ridiculous. Example: "You should go to bed early" becomes "yOu ShOuLd Go To BeD eArLy." The SpongeBob image reinforces the mocking tone.