You may have encountered the meme “X to doubt” while scrolling through your feed or reading comments sections, often pausing to wonder what the “X” truly means. At first, it seems like a prompt to express skepticism, but its purpose extends beyond just expressing disbelief or disagreement.

The phrase has taken on a life of its own, manifesting in various contexts across social media and beyond — from image clips to illustrations to conversations.

We grew curious about what “X to doubt” means and decided to investigate its origins and significance. This article explores why this expression of disbelief has gained such traction in digital conversations.

What Does “X to Doubt” Mean

With their soaring popularity and the interactive feel of modern interfaces, gaming memes have become a part of our everyday lives. It’s almost as if we eagerly anticipate their arrival, making them a fun and integral aspect of gaming culture.

In a LinkedIn post from 2024, game developer Phantom Cave Studio emphasizes the cultural importance of gaming memes. They argue that these memes serve as a bridge, connecting players from diverse backgrounds. The studio also describes gaming memes as a form of therapy for gamers, providing a means to communicate, connect, and share experiences on a shared wavelength.

The “X to doubt” reaction image is derived from the L.A. Noire game. Memes with this catchphrase were used in social feeds and comments to express disbelief over the thread topic or the previous statement within a comment section.

In this case, the “X to Doubt” meme puts players — and non-players — on the same level of relatable disbelief. The game was developed by Rockstar Games, which has also created other wildly famous games, such as Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, and Red Dead.

“X to Doubt” in L.A. Noire

In the video game L.A. Noire, the player assumes the role of Detective Cole Phelps. As Phelps solves crimes in 1940s Los Angeles, there are scenes in which he interrogates witnesses to gather clues about the various crimes.

After each witness makes a statement, the player has to decide which clues appear viable. The player is presented with three options and must choose whether to accept the statement as “truth,” “lie,” or express skepticism with the option to “doubt.”

The famous video game image that became a viral meme was essentially taken from the capture of Phelps’ face when the game character would select “doubt.”

Online Debut and Social Spread

That image of Phelps from the game was captured and highlighted on Funnyjunk on December 4, 2012,  under the thread “Best Divorce Letter Ever.” The photo was initially posted without the caption but with the accompanying comment on the image, which reads “(X) Doubt.”

Image credits: funnyjunk.com

In 2013, the image was also seen in other posts and versions on Funnyjunk. For example, poster One Evil Muthafucka put images of the three options of Phelps: lie, truth, and doubt.

Image credits: One Evil Muthafucka

Eventually, the game image made its way to Tumblr and Reddit. For example, a post on Tumblr by user loatheoflaughing on July 25, 2015, found him reacting to Fallout 4 and its loading times. In reaction, the user used a sketch of the “X to Doubt” image to express his disbelief, putting “Be skeptical” beside it.

Image credits: loatheoflaughing

Other gamers joined the thread with variations of the “X to Doubt” image, some rendered in the Coaxed Into a Snafu meme template. The thread garnered over 28,000 notes, with many reblogging and liking the post. 

Redditor r/43eyes then gathered previously existing Snafu edits and posted the compilation on September 30, 2016. The thread received 4,700 reactions on the Coaxed into a Snafu subreddit. 

Image credits: r/43eyes

The meme would see other versions on Reddit as users created similar reaction memes that used other character heads, ranging from real-life people to cartoon characters and other illustrations.

For example, Redditor r/Hololive made an “X for doubt” version of anime characters.

Image credits: r/Hololive

Redditor r/Kingdomhearts chipped in, reimagining the same options on another game. His version got 206 votes.

Image credits: r/Kingdomhearts

Another Redittor r/madmen posted his relation, saying that Phelps resembles Madmen’s Ken Cosgrove.

Image credits: OD317

How a Gaming Button Became a Symbol of Skepticism

Gaming consoles have evolved significantly, making it a shared experience to press X to confirm various actions. As a result, the meme captures this widespread skepticism in a relatable way.

Since the meme became so popular, it has become a colloquial term, with an entry in the Urban Dictionary — a phrase people use to express doubt towards another person (2).

Interestingly, expressing doubt is normal. According to Psychology Today, a thinking person can’t help but often experience doubt (3). The difference, however, is that in today’s digital-based world, there are modern ways to express that doubt, like memes. 

Today, internet memes have become a widespread form of light entertainment, allowing people to express themselves through cleverly remixed text templates, images, and videos (BBC,2022) (4). What may initially seem like funny snippets can effectively convey more profound meanings.

References

1. Phantom Game Studio. “The Cultural Significance of Gaming Memes: More Than Just LOLs.” LinkedIn, October 3, 2024. | https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cultural-significance-gaming-memes-more-than-just-lols-phantom-cave-fwzkf/
2. Stinkiest Bob, “X for Doubt.” Urban Dictionary, March 8, 2019. | https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Press+X+to+doubt 
3. Marty Nemko. “Living with Doubt: How to Make Peace with Uncertainty.” Psychology Today, February 17, 2022. | https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/how-do-life/202202/living-doubt-how-make-peace-uncertainty
4. Helen Brown. “The surprising power of internet memes.” BBC, September 29, 2022. | https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220928-the-surprising-power-of-internet-memes  

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