The Best 'Cia Then vs Now' Memes and the Dark Historical Realities Behind Them
By Alexander Ross
Q1: Why do internet users compare the historic CIA to the modern agency?
The comparison serves as political satire. It highlights the sharp, ironic contrast between the agency’s brutal, violent Cold War covert operations and its contemporary adoption of corporate diversity language, social media marketing, and HR-driven recruitment ads.
Q2: Did the CIA really study internet memes and cyber humor?
Yes. The 2017 Vault 7 leak confirmed that technical units within the Center for Cyber Intelligence collected, created, and utilized internet memes within internal development documentation and tool guides while building offensive hacking exploits.
Q3: Were all Cold War CIA assassination and mind-control plots confirmed?
Many of the most notorious plots were fully confirmed. The 1975 Church Committee and subsequent declassified document releases verified that the agency orchestrated foreign coups, ran Project MKUltra drug trials on non-consenting civilians, and drew up assassination plans against foreign heads of state.
Alexander Ross has covered the video game industry for a decade, writing deep dives on game design, esports tournaments, VR developments, and gaming culture.
