Iconic Blinking White Guy from viral GIF uses face and fame to ask for donations for MS charity, and has raised more than US$154,000 so far

The GIF has been used more than 1.7 billion times to show disbelief or confusion and even has its own Twitter page

The man behind the confused disbelieving expression, Drew Scanlon, is asking for donations to help the fight against multiple sclerosis

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Drew Scanlon’s expression (upper left) during a Giant Bomb live stream became a GIF, known across the internet to express disbelief or confusion. Photo: Giant Bomb via AP

Published: 1:15am, 28 Sep 2021Updated: 11:00am, 28 Sep 2021

If you’ve been on social media, or texted with GIF-loving friends, you know Drew Scanlon’s face.

His GIF, known as “Blinking Guy” or “Blinking White Guy”, is estimated to have been used more than 1.7 billion times across the internet to express disbelief or confusion. It even has its own Twitter page.

Scanlon hasn’t been wasting that internet fame. He’s using it for good – soliciting donations for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to aid with research and advocacy for the disease.

Last week, he appealed to his Twitter followers to pitch in: “If this GIF has ever brought you joy in the past, I humbly ask you to consider making a donation to the National MS Society,” he wrote on Twitter.

Drew Scanlon’s face became a viral GIF to express confusion and disbelief. Photo: Giant Bomb via AP

Many chipped in, helping Scanlon raise more than US$75,000 and break his 2019 record of nearly US$34,000, the first time he used the meme to raise funds. Overall, he’s raised more than US$154,000 for the organisation since 2016.