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.