About

Wolf Wearing Sheep's Clothing, also known as Wolf in Disguise, refers to a series of images and memes based on the ancient fable about a wolf that dresses up in the skin of a sheep and sneaks up on a flock to eat them. One of the most notable images related to the meme appeared online in early 2009, depicting a wolf holding a sheep mask or head as a disguise. The artwork was popularized over the years as an image macro and exploitable with captions added to it, often related to netizens' hidden desires or intentions.

Origin

Although the author of the "Wolf Wearing Sheep's Clothing" painting is unknown, one of the earliest online mentions of it was uploaded in The Daily (Maybe)^[1] blog on October 14th, 2009, by an unknown user who referenced the image with the Matthew 18:12 Bible verse "he rejoiceth more of that [one lost] sheep than of the ninety-nine that went not astray."

The earliest memetic usage of the painting was posted on Imgflip^[2] on November 30th, 2016, by user ErrantBelle, who added the text, "Always be on guard, your kindness and compassion will be weaponized by those who possess neither." The post (seen below) received more than 4,400 views in nine years.

Spread

The Wolf Wearing Sheep's Clothing painting became a prominent image macro and exploitable meme in the following years, particularly among religious netizens referencing the bible verse, as well as the subject of ironic memes about people hiding their true intentions or desires.

For example, on January 7th, 2025, Instagram^[3] user @the.soundgeist posted a version of the meme adding the macro "Men who listen to Taylor Swift," which amassed over 77,000 comments in three months.

The image also became fairly prevalent among Brazilians on TikTok, who added funny captions about their true identities being hidden from society.

For instance, on March 2nd, 2025, TikTok^[4] user @arthurzcostah posted a version of the meme, writing, "How it feels like writing an essay against cyber bullying." The post (seen below) garnered roughly 4 million plays and 940,000 likes in four days.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References