A report by the Anti-Defamation League states that the phrase itself has a history within the white supremacist movement going back to 2001 when it was used as the title of a song by a white power music group called Aggressive Force as well as fliers with the phrase being spotted in 2005 and the slogan being used by a member of the United Klans of America. The saying was later spread by neo-Nazi groups and politically organized white supremacists, including former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke and The Daily Stormer. The suggestion for the use of posters with the saying originated on the message board /pol/ of 4chan, with the intent of provoking reactions.

Media coverage of the event, including Fox News host Tucker Carlson asking 'What's the correct position? That it's not okay to be white?', was seen as reacting in the way that the trolling campaign had intended. The slogan has been supported by white supremacists including neo-Nazis. Posters and stickers stating 'It's okay to be white' were placed in streets in the United States as well as on campuses in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. A /pol/ user described it as a proof of concept that an otherwise innocuous message could be used maliciously to spark media backlash. ' It's okay to be white' ( IOTBW) is a slogan which originated as part of an organized alt-right trolling campaign on the website 4chan's discussion board /pol/ in 2017. A sticker with the slogan publicly displayed in 2017.

Its fine meme background