User blog comment:Shadow Of Darkness/When Did Smile.jpg First Circulate On the Internet?/@comment-3999760-20140901232226

Smile.jpg supposedly started on 4chan's /x/. Some say it started around 2008, but there are claims that it started earlier than that. It is difficult to tell because it was post on /x/, hence due to 4chan inability to archive and everyone posting anonymously, pin pointing when it started is almost impossible.