Harold Approves Meme Generator
Your friend sends a voice note. It's eleven minutes long. You reply with a thumbs up. You have listened to none of it.
Your teenager shows you a song. It's mostly a man shouting over a car alarm. "Nice," you say. "Very nice."
The new process is approved. It has seven steps and replaces the old one, which had two. Thumbs up all round.
Your dad has discovered emoji. Every message now ends in a thumbs up, including "Grandma's in hospital".
Why it caught on: the stock photos of András Arató, a retired Hungarian electrical engineer, reached forums in 2011, where people named him Harold for the pain behind the smile. The thumbs up in the winter sweater became "Upvote Harold" on Reddit and imgflip: a man approving of something with every muscle except his eyes.