What Is The 'Child With Small Telescope' Meme And Is It Real? The Bizarre Poster Meme Explained

A guy has been trolling his neighborhood since July 2018 with bizarre and yet hilariously funny fake posters for various weird products, services and even a warning sign against a "Child With Small Telescope" terrorizing a neighbor.

Alan Wagner, the comedian behind the Facebook and Instagram page @TrueWagner, explained in a 2018 interview to Bored Panda that the idea behind the fake poster memes was "to make absurd stuff […] and act as though I just found it on the street."

Let's uncover the story behind why @TrueWagner created the Child With Small Telescope poster and how the image became a viral meme on Reddit and X / Twitter over the years.

What Is The 'Child With Small Telescope' Meme?

It isn't unusual to see messages or warnings in Facebook groups about teenagers and children terrorizing a neighborhood with silly pranks or mischief. That's why a fake poster quickly got viral traction online, created by the Instagram satire page @TrueWagner back in March 2021, calling out an alleged "child with a small telescope" who keeps staring at people's apartments.

The satirical warning sign attached to a wooden telephone pole with the caption, "A local child has an issue," shows images of a child with a small telescope that keeps "coming by and staring up into our apartment."

The sign is also accompanied by a 3D-rendering version of the child generated by AI, which feels random but also humorous since it adds to the satirical and absurdist nature of the fake flyer.

How Is The ''Child With Small Telescope' Used In Memes?

Since late 2021, the meme has continued to go viral mainly on Reddit, sparking jokes and theories regarding the kid's motivation to spy on the neighbor's windows, with it also becoming an exploitable meme format as people edit parts of the original poster.

For instance, on April 6th, 2021, Redditor Jojo_tank0 added the Child with Small Telescope image alongside the My Goals Are Beyond Your Understanding meme to encapsulate the kid's strength and confidence.

For the full history of the Child With Small Telescope meme, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.