What Is Confession Bear, And Will He Be Forgiven?

There he is, gazing out at you with his wistful eyes and adorable frown. Confession Bear has something to tell you, and it's important enough that it shows up in big Impact font. This classic Advice Animal meme, which is now over a decade old, is still cooking. And it'll keep on cooking for a while longer.

Where Did Confession Bear Come From?

The Confession Bear meme started the old-fashioned way: somebody posted a picture to Reddit's /r/AdviceAnimals (specifically a user named F-18Bro) and baptized the meme "Confession Bear." The original picture itself, of a Malayan sun bear, comes from Getty Images, where it was uploaded in 2007. The first meme confessed to some private activities which u/F-18Bro apparently took part in.

Soon after its first posting in the summer of 2012, Confession Bear went viral: within 48 hours, it moved to other subreddits, other platforms (Twitter and Tumblr) and inspired its own gag website.

Confession Bear joined the standard cast of Advice Animals, with a bit of a twist that distinguished it from other Advice Animals: rather than representing a character separate from the poster, Confession Bear memes often center around an "I." They allow the poster to share some relatable strangeness or flaw of theirs, which is then validated by a sympathetic community.

Did Someone Confess To A Murder Using This Meme?

In 2013, one particular posting of Confession Bear attracted a lot of attention:

In response, a group of overzealous Redditors doxxed the person who posted it, finding his address, his location, his family history and even contacting the FBI. Among the information shared was his work history and favorite sandwich at a local deli. The press soon followed, fascinated by the story. Gawker, Slate, and a variety of other early-2010s media websites wrote several pieces about the matter.

The original poster strongly denied the charges, writing to Gawker: "I did indeed make the post on Reddit, but that doesn't make it true." Other outlets found no connection to a possible murder, and his sister allegedly called him a "scrawny gamer" who had done an "ill-advised prank."

How Is Confession Bear Used?

Like many Advice Animals, Confession Bear can be used in a highly flexible way. The meme can tell a little story phrased as a confession. It also can. tell a joke, serve as a call-out, or it can also be used to make a meta-joke.

For the full history of Confession Bear, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.