Meaning
What does FBI Agent mean?
FBI agent refers to the popular online trope of users engaging with their assigned “FBI agent” who is spying on them, through their phones or computers.
The relationship is usually depicted as friendly, rather than adverse, with the agent doing favors for the user and being compassionate in many cases.
Origin
What's the origin of FBI Agent?
The meme became highly prevalent in the years 2017 and 2018, with a popular deviation emerging on Twitter in April, 2017.
In December, 2017, Buzzfeed published a compilation of tweets, consisting on “FBI agent” jokes.
Spread & Usage
How did FBI Agent spread?
In 2018, the trend was taken up by Mashable and HighSnobiety, sharing publications about the meme.
While “FBI agent” was predominantly seen on Twitter, screenshots of tweets would appear on other sites, such as Reddit, Facebook and Instagram.
Another form of the meme would depict chats or Google searches performed by a user, with a text message appearing from their assigned “FBI agent”.
External resources
- Mashable – The surprising poignancy of the ‘FBI agent’ meme
- Know Your Meme – Government Agent Watching Me