Poe's law
In Internet culture, Poe's law is an observation that unless an author states their intent, written satire may be taken at face value rather than as a parody. Essentially, making sarcastic statements about an extreme subject seem real to the reader.
For example, a user might create a Twitter account where they pretend to support something or someone to make fun of their views. However, someone may see that account's posts and think the owner agrees with those beliefs and actions.
Conversely, Poe's law can also refer to situations where a subject is so extreme it may be interpreted as a parody when it's fact.
The practice of being sarcastic online is sometimes called "trolling."
Who coined the term Poe's law?
While widely attributed to a comment by Nathan Poe on a Christian Internet forum in 2005, the concept of Poe's law reaches back as early as 1983. At that time, Jerry Schwartz warned that one should include a sideway smiley symbol ":-)" when using satire on the Internet. Otherwise, readers won't know the author is "only kidding" as they can't convey body language or voice inflection via text.
Computer laws, Internet terms, Meme, Pepe the Frog, /s, Social network, Toxic, Troll