Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, originally a philosophical metaphor from 'The Republic,' has evolved into a versatile meme template used to critique how people perceive reality versus truth. The image typically depicts prisoners shackled in a cave watching shadows on a wall, unaware that the shadows are merely fabrications of objects passing in front of a fire. In internet culture, the template is used to satirize everything from political propaganda and consumerism to self-delusion and niche hobby obsessions. By labeling the shadows, the fire, and the person escaping, creators highlight the gap between a comfortable lie and a painful or enlightening reality, making ancient Greek philosophy surprisingly relatable to the 21st-century digital experience.