How Did A Scatter Plot Become A Popular Reaction Image? No Correlation Meme Explained

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About

No Correlation or Scatter Plot Meme refers to a reaction image and exploitable meme used in comment sections on various social media platforms to denote the irrelevance of a comment or statement. The image, which features a standard scatter plot and the text "No Correlation," began to be used as a reaction image on platforms like Twitter / X and Tumblr sometime around 2015, before gaining traction on Reddit and later TikTok, continuing to spread into the 2020s.

Origin

A scatter plot or scatter chart is a type of graph used to display the relationship between two numerical variables by plotting data points along an X-axis and a Y-axis. Each point represents one observation with two values, allowing viewers to see patterns, trends or relationships between the variables.

In statistics, no correlation means there is no consistent relationship between the two variables, meaning changes in one variable do not predict or relate to changes in the other. On a scatter plot, points that appear randomly distributed without a clear upward or downward trend indicate that the variables being measured are not correlated.

The image of the scatter plot used in most memes is likely sourced from a stock image website. Though the first instance of the scatter plot image used as a reaction is not known, an early example, posted to Imgur by user RussianMinority dates back to October 16th, 2015.

RussianMinority R 228,130 Views October 16 2015 ⚫via Android + FOLLOW WHO HERE IS A MATH WIZARD? miss erika @airwrecka_b He's deaf & YET he's finer than most guys around 11 oppo m Y Ikd Y cka_b He's deaf YET he's finer than most guys No Correlation X

Use of the scatter plot on Twitter can be dated back to 2015, though many of these tweets are now deleted or otherwise inaccessible.

A BuzzFeed article featured a now-deleted tweet, posted November 6th, 2015, that utilized the chart as a response.

preview of a now deleted or inaccessible tweet

The image also yields significant results for now-deleted or inaccessible Tumblr blogs, dating back to 2016.

Spread

On February 9th, 2019, Reddit user SuperHelix7 posted a meme featuring the scatter plot image to r/memes, indicating that the meme had spread. The post received 1,900 upvotes as of March 2026.

r/memes • 7y ago SuperHelix7 no correlation Me: yea I'm Nigerian Caucasian lady: Amazing! My colleague went to Kenya for a mission trip 2 years ago No Correlation Y X

The image continued to see widespread use throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s, being used as a visual aid to demonstrate the irrelevance of something regarding a certain topic, or to denote that something is off-topic or unrelated to a statement.

For instance, 9GAG user orhunk9 posted a version mocking 9GAG memes on August 7th, 2017, garnering nearly 30 likes in nine years.

 I have a 9gag account too! No Correlation Y X

On December 19th, 2023, TikTok user @rebmasel posted a video featuring the no correlation meme, stitching a different creator and using the image to comment on the lack of correlation between her two statements. The video has received 3.9 million views and 446,500 likes as of March 2026.

@rebmasel #stitch with @ ♬ original sound – reb for the rebrand

On September 28th, 2025, TikTok user @sslimeball_ posted a GIF with the caption, "when you haven't eaten all day so you genuinely start asking yourself if you're gay or not." The video received 2.7 million views and 561,800 likes in a little over five months.

@sslimeball_ #fyp #giftok #gif #relatable #relatablememes ♬ Successful – PCF Jaey

TikTok users responded to the video, posting the no correlation scatter plot meme to express confusion at the statement, feeling that the two variables were completely unrelated.

found in comments found in comments

Various Examples

Y No Correlation X THERE'S CORRELATION

No Correlation Y ???????? ???? Perfect positive correlation


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