What am I doing here?

Our social media platforms are inundated with memes.Words and images are merged to create persuasive messages designed to be consumed in a single glance. These messages run the gamut from clever to ridiculous, from cute to revolting.

Internet users 'like', 'share' and 'forward' these memes at lightening speed, with a single click of a mouse or the touch of a fingertip. Few users take the time to check the information presented, relying instead on the personal integrity of the meme's creator to guarantee its accuracy.

This blog is designed to interrupt the flow, to thoroughly analyze some of these Internet memes, working to understand their aims and origins while measuring the veracity of their messages.

Propaganda is not new and certainly not specific to the Internet, but since any device which allows memes to be displayed almost certainly provides access to a search engine, I believe that ignorance is a choice.

We can do better than allowing the wool to be pulled over our eyes by those who count on our being too lazy ever to check the facts for ourselves.

As the number of memes researched increases, this blog will become a repository for resources that are useful in debunking social media myths and misrepresentations -- a resource center, if you will, for independent thinkers.

As various Internet memes are examined, I look forward to spirited discussion on many topics. All viewpoints are welcome, but the language we use will be appropriate for general audiences and there will be no name calling.  Offending posts will be removed at my discretion.

With that said, Bring on the Memes!