The Trapwire Surveillance Leak meme draws its aesthetic from the 2012 Stratfor email leaks by WikiLeaks, which revealed the existence of a global facial recognition system named Trapwire. The meme typically features gritty, high-contrast CCTV footage or digital targeting overlays to simulate a state-level surveillance interface. It is widely used across the internet to satirize government overreach, corporate data mining, and the general sense of being monitored in the modern era. By blending real-world whistleblower history with 'Big Brother' tropes, users apply this template to everything from political commentary to jokes about targeted advertisements or being watched by a pet.