An extension of Godwin’s Law, Merritt’s Law states that as an online argument grows longer and more heated, it becomes increasingly likely that a
participant will stop discussing things and just throw up a series of “memes” (see below). When such an event occurs, the person guilty of running afoul of Merritt's Law has effectively forfeited the argument.
Properly used, the term “meme” refers broadly to “an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from one person to another in a culture” but as used above, the term “meme” refers to an image with words typed onto it spread via
social media. The words are not searchable and, as it turns out, when the words are intended to be a quote, it very
frequently turns out to be a misquote.
