They re the same picture
This image is a triptych-style meme with three separate panels stacked vertically. The top panel shows a black and white photo of a man smiling broadly, with a look that can be described as goofy or carefree. The man's expression is exaggerated, with wide eyes and a wide, toothy grin.
The middle panel features a completely different individual, this time in full color. It's a man with a very stern and intense expression. His eyebrows are furrowed, lips pressed firmly together, and he has an overall countenance that conveys seriousness or even anger.
Below these two contrasting images, the third panel shows a woman with a neutral expression on her face. This panel includes text, which is a key element of the joke. It says, "They're the same picture." This line is the punchline of the meme, and it prompts the humor.
The humor in this meme arises from the juxtaposition of the three panels and the situational irony that they depict. The first two images are clearly of two different people who are exhibiting entirely dissimilar emotions. The top one is light-hearted and joyous, while the one in the middle is intense and possibly aggressive.
When the viewer reads the bottom panel, where the woman states that the top two pictures are the same, the immediate reaction is typically one of confusion or incredulity, because clearly, the pictures are of two different subjects altogether.
The punchline is further recognized as funny due to its reference to a popular scene from a television series where a character cannot differentiate between two clearly distinct images. The humor is derived from the absurdity that someone could perceive these two distinct images as identical when they clearly are not, playing on the theme of perceptual mistakes that can be made in various contexts. They re the same picture
