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CIA Inspires Cringe, Political Debate, And Conspiracy Theories With 'Woke' Ad

May 3rd, 2021 - 1:51 PM EDT by Adam Downer

12 comments

(CIA)

The CIA, which is not a particularly popular branch of the American government after it allegedly introduced cheap cocaine into Los Angeles, overthrew several Latin American governments and participated in multiple unsavory international affairs, is attempting to advertise its commitment to diversity through a series of ads showcasing the various Humans of the CIA. It is not being received very well.

While the ads have been on YouTube for several months, it wasn't until a recent tweet by the Central Intelligence Agency that they began seeing significant pushback. The ad shows Mija, a Latina employee of the CIA who drops several academic buzzwords and phrases while talking about her life's journey into the CIA. "I refused to internalize misguided, patriarchal ideas of what a woman can and should be," she says. "I am tired of feeling like I'm supposed to apologize for the space I occupy."

The full, 2:20 cut of the ad finds Mija using much more buzzy, "discourse"-y language in describing herself. According to her words, she has a generalized anxiety disorder. She's intersectional. She's cisgender. "But my existence is not a box-checking exercise," she notes.

As the clip started going around Twitter, users were agog at the flurry of buzzwords Mija used in the ad, interpreting the ad as the CIA attempting to appeal to the college-educated crowd while hiding its troubled history.


Others took it as evidence that left-wing politics had failed.

Others still believed it was some sort of psyop to eradicate conservatives.

So, in sum, the Left hates the ad because it's pandering to the left, the Right hates it because they see it as the CIA threatening conservativism, and everyone not politically involved thinks it's cringeworthy. To use another academic buzzword to describe the CIA's video, it is an epic fail.

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Comments 12 total

dirtymonkey

May 05, 2021 at 04:01AM EDT

I love this. I don't give a shit what anybody says, woke imperialism is based as fuck.

0

Commodore V

May 04, 2021 at 09:49AM EDT

MORE👏ALL👏WOMEN👏DEATHSQUADS

4

Görktürks are furries

May 04, 2021 at 09:04AM EDT

this has to be some sort of embezzlement scheme because not even the CIA is stupid enough to actually think this was a good idea.

0

Chewybunny

May 04, 2021 at 02:54AM EDT

"So, in sum, the Left hates the ad because it's pandering to the left, the Right hates it because they see it as the CIA threatening conservativism,…"
The left sees it as pandering and coopting their progressive language for recruitment, recruitment into the very institution that has thwarted the countries that shared their ideological views. They are right to fear this, because it reveals much about the emancipatory rhetoric game they've been playing. The conservatives view that the CIA's pandering to the woke and it's growing distrust of the CIA in general, views that the CIA would use it's clandestine power to go after conservatives – and conservative activism, and even more so, during the US literally entering a second cold war with China, weakening an important intelligence institution by focusing on diversity rather than quality.
Is it cringe worthy? Hell Yes. But this is one of those times that both the right and the left are absolutely right in what they fear from this kind of peddling.

6

Crispy Cream

May 03, 2021 at 10:48PM EDT

I made an event entry for this:
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/humans-of-cia
First entry I've ever made so don't expect anything great.

0

Gone

May 03, 2021 at 08:49PM EDT

_ "But my existence is not a box-checking exercise,"_

If you participate in intersectionality, your existence is a "box-checking exercise" by default.

CIA, real talk, we don't want wokeness, we want you to stop doing evil things. That's it. I understand there's a time and place for cloak and dagger stuff, especially when dealing with actual terrorists, but you don't need to be selling drugs or overthrowing governments (unless we're at war and only for a justified reason, like WWII).

I love my country, but I really don't like how it's run by the highest offices.

19

Jerach

May 03, 2021 at 09:55PM EDT Gone

I don't think there's ever really a time for cloak and dagger stuff. Even in the midst of the Cold War the CIA's efforts mostly just resulted in killing a ton of people and overthrowing democratically elected governments.

2

Gone

May 03, 2021 at 09:59PM EDT Jerach

By cloak and dagger, I mean stuff like "Our spies have found a plot to blow up a building! We better stop that!" No, governments shouldn't be going around killing random people for no reason without a fair trial or part of a "justified" war or overthrow democratically elected governments.

5

Jerach

May 03, 2021 at 11:20PM EDT Gone

I get you. It's just from what I've seen that kind of scenario happened so incredibly rarely. Over 90% of the CIA's activity is sketchy and fucked up stuff.

2

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A Concerned Rifleman

May 03, 2021 at 08:02PM EDT

Whatever the case, it seems like the CIA has fallen for the multi-level marketing scam known as "Intersectional HR."

2

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