Everything You Need to Know About the Viral 'Cia Then vs Now' Meme
By Alexander Ross
The classic "CIA Then vs Now" layout follows a two-panel side-by-side design. The left panel, labeled "CIA Then," typically features grainy black-and-white photography or dramatic Cold War documentation. Common choices include maps detailing Operation PBSuccess in Guatemala (1954), declassified memos from the 1953 Iranian coup, photographs of Chilean President Salvador Allende just before the 1973 overthrow, or redacted notes referencing the MKUltra mind control experiments of the 1950s and 1960s.
The right panel, labeled "CIA Now," cuts to brightly lit modernity. It showcases screengrabs from Langley's official Instagram feed, officers in rainbow lanyards during Pride Month celebrations, corporate wellness seminars, or quotes about emotional vulnerability in the workplace. One viral variation featured a split screen: on the left, an operative dosing unsuspecting civilians with LSD; on the right, an agent asking a colleague for trigger warnings before a drone strike debrief.
The core mechanism is incongruity. By collapsing decades of violent regime change history into a modern HR framework, the meme exposes how modern state institutions drape bureaucratic gentility over raw geopolitical muscle. It strips away the polite veneer of official public relations by reminding viewers what the agency actually does for a living.
Alexander Ross has covered the video game industry for a decade, writing deep dives on game design, esports tournaments, VR developments, and gaming culture.
