The 'CIA Award for Excellence in Journalism' is a dark humor meme that sarcastically suggests investigative journalists who uncover sensitive government secrets are frequently 'silenced' or 'suicided.' The meme typically references the suspicious deaths of reporters, implying that the 'award' is actually an assassination framed as a self-inflicted incident. It gained significant traction within online political and conspiracy theory circles, often referencing real-world figures like Gary Webb and the 'double-tap suicide' trope. Users employ this template to highlight the dangers of high-stakes investigative reporting or to criticize perceived government overreach and the suppression of inconvenient truths.