About

"Why Is the FBI Here?" is a series of images featuring screenshots of various Google searches with a pop-up text message notification from a father asking "Why is the FBI Here?", suggesting that the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation had been alerted to the search query.

Origin

On February 12th, 2017, the @blaze.it.memes^[5] Instagram page posted a screenshot of Google searches for the keywords "nearest kindergarten school," "how to clear search history" and "where to find a bomb" below a text message notification from "Dad" asking "why is the FBI here" (shown below).

Spread

On February 24th, 2017. Twitter user @realMythical posted an image of a google search "how to download Minecraft for free" followed by a text message asking, "Why is the FBI here"^[1] (Shown Below). The next day it was posted to the /meirl^[9] reddit page by IamMetalstorm and it gained 23,000+ upvotes in 24 hours. In the following hours of the original meme being posted, it's been posted by multiple known meme accounts on most social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. "FreeMemesKids" also posted the meme which has over 10,000 retweets.^[10]

On February 26th, the @NoChillPosts^[3] Twitter feed posted a screenshot of a search for pirating the Nickelodeon television series Big Time Rush(shown below, left). Meanwhile, Twitter user @LaziestCanine^[6] posted a screenshot of the text message over a search for Club Penguin hacks (shown below, right). The same day, The Daily Dot^[2] published an article about the image series.

Also on February 26th, Redditor WillTheWiz submitted a variations containing the search query for "how to make a paper ninja star" to /r/dankmemes,^[8] where it received more than 2,400 votes (97% upvoted) over the next day. Meanwhile, Redditor agonking posted a similar search for making an origami "paper gun that shoots" to /r/memes^[7] (shown below, right).

Illuminati Don't Fucking Move

On December 3rd, 2017, Instagram meme account @masipopal posted a meme featuring a text message exchange that reads "You know how no one knows which came first, chicken or egg. Its egg. They plants." At the end of the text, a new message from "illumniati" reads, "Don't fucking move."

The image was shared publicly by @hoodclips Instagram^[11] meme account, where it received more than 157,000 likes in one month. When Redditor^[12] Chantibros_Fire posted the meme, the image received more tahn 19,000 points (3% upvoted) and 150 comments in one month.

Shortly after the original meme was posted, more variations of the format appeared. Much like the FBI precursor, the variation features a text message exchange or a tweet in which someone uncovers a supposed mystery (examples below).

Wants to Know Your Location

On January 15th, 2018, Redditor^[13] rgauci5800 posted another variation on the meme, this time parodying location services on desktop computers. In this version, in the top pane, "how to hang yourself" is written in a Google search field. In the bottom pane, a location services notification window can be seen with the text "Logan Paul wants to Know your location," referencing Logan Paul's Suicide Forest Video. The post (shown below) received more than 8,600 points (97% upvoted) and 50 comments in 24 hours.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References