# Meme: “Someone will always take a parody seriously”?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meme-someone-will-always-take-a-parody-seriously/648342>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 25, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meme-someone-will-always-take-a-parody-seriously/648342 "2013-01-25T18:19:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meme-someone-will-always-take-a-parody-seriously/648342/1 "2013-01-25T18:19:42Z")

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Sorry, I’m having a brain fart.

What’s the term for the idea that “there is no internet parody so stupid that someone won’t take it seriously”?

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**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meme-someone-will-always-take-a-parody-seriously/648342/2 "2013-01-25T18:20:30Z")

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[Poe’s Law?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law)

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**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meme-someone-will-always-take-a-parody-seriously/648342/3 "2013-01-25T21:41:12Z")

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That’s it!

Thanks!

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**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meme-someone-will-always-take-a-parody-seriously/648342/4 "2013-01-25T23:06:54Z")

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Are you joking?

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**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meme-someone-will-always-take-a-parody-seriously/648342/5 "2013-01-25T23:32:17Z")

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> [@Ethilrist](#):
>
> Are you joking?

Why do you have to be so rude?

[I think that may be venturing into sarcasm territory]

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**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meme-someone-will-always-take-a-parody-seriously/648342/6 "2013-01-25T23:46:41Z")

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My efforts to have this recognized as [Lamia’s Law](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=1531264&postcount=20) sadly failed.

> [@Me](#):
>
> “Do not expect people to realize that you are joking or being sarcastic when you post something intentionally outrageous. No matter how obviously stupid, bigoted, wrongheaded, or downright crazy your post is, someone somewhere on the Internet has already posted the same thing and meant it.”

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**Author:** ![benbo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@benbo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benbo1)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meme-someone-will-always-take-a-parody-seriously/648342/7 "2013-01-26T13:50:03Z")

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A corollary - what I heard in the pre-internet days was “there is no idea so stupid that you can’t gt 100,000 believers (in America)”