MatPat's 'Please Stop' Reaction Image Has Been Blowing Up On TikTok All Year

2 months ago 60

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About

MatPat "Please Stop" is a reaction image based on the thumbnail from YouTuber MatPat's 2022 video "Stop the FNAF ARG hunt" in which his fingers are tented in front of his face next to the text, "Please STOP!" The thumbnail was popularized as a reaction image and sticker on TikTok throughout early 2026, especially in comment sections. The reaction image is typically used to tell someone to stop doing something they dislike or disagree with.

Origin

On June 8th, 2022, YouTuber The Game Theorists, also known as MatPat, posted a video titled "Stop the FNAF ARG hunt." In the video, MatPat responds to people who took one of his previous videos about a potentially hidden alternate reality game (ARG) in Five Nights at Freddy's games and books too seriously and began searching for the ARG in inappropriate ways, including through doxxing. The video's thumbnail shows MatPat with his hands in front of his face with tented fingers next to the text, "Please STOP!"

On March 20th, 2023, X user @DavidToons_ posted the thumbnail under the caption, "Matpat when he sees his employees going on a union strike," garnering over 180 likes in three years. This is one of the earliest known uses of the thumbnail as a reaction image.

A meme using the "please stop" meme. It reads, "Matpat when he sees his employees going on a union strike."

Spread

On December 25th, 2025, a squashed, square version of the thumbnail was uploaded to Tenor, with another version of the same meme uploaded to Giphy on December 30th, gaining over 339,000 views in three months.

A reaction image based on a thumbnail by MatPat. The reaction image says "please stop."

The reaction image was largely popularized in TikTok comment sections throughout early 2026, inspiring edits that alter the text and image.

On March 5th, 2026, TikToker @auto.editz13.main posted a video edit that remixes several prevalent TikTok reaction images (or stickers) based on YouTube thumbnails, including the MatPat meme, the Our Brains Are Shrinking meme and the I'm Out meme, gaining over 600,000 views in two weeks.

@auto.editz13.main no intro yt thumbnails edit || #fyp #meme #ourbrainsareshrinking #pleasestop #funny || ib: @wtmnzx ♬ original sound – Auto

On March 15th, TikToker @ryder_mill4 posted a similar video edit where the user puts their girlfriend in a number of YouTube thumbnail reaction images, including the MatPat thumbnail, garnering over 1.3 million views in four days.

@ryder_mill4 😳🤣 #gf #funny #postme #cupcake #ginger @ginga.ninja27 ♬ original sound – Local CapCut Templates