Godwin's Law

Godwin's Law is one of the most enduring and influential adages of internet culture, formulated as both an observation and a social experiment in early online discourse. The law states: "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1" (Wikipedia, 2025). Originally conceived by attorney and internet advocate Mike Godwin in 1990, this pseudo-scientific principle was designed as what Godwin himself termed an "experiment in memetics," specifically intended to address and discourage the frivolous use of Nazi analogies that were proliferating on Usenet newsgroups (Wikipedia, 2025).

The conceptual foundation for Godwin's Law can be traced to an earlier observation by Richard Sexton, who on October 16, 1989, posted to Usenet: "You can tell when a USENET discussion is getting old when one of the participants drags out Hitler and the Nazis" (TV Tropes, 2007). Godwin formalized and popularized this observation into his eponymous law the following year, creating what he described as a "counter-meme" to combat what he considered illogical and offensive comparisons that trivialized the Holocaust (R Street Institute, 2024).

Godwin introduced his law not as a prediction but as a warning, designed with what he called "the sound and seeming inevitability of a law of physics or mathematics" to create a disincentive for reflexive Hitler comparisons (R Street Institute, 2024). His goal was to function as "memetic inoculation"—making people aware of how absurdly and reflexively Nazi analogies were being deployed in hopes they would become more thoughtful about such comparisons. The law was deliberately crafted to be memorable and viral, and Godwin admitted to being "a bit of a prankster" about promoting it in early internet discussion forums (R Street Institute, 2024).

The law gained significant traction throughout the 1990s as internet culture expanded beyond early adopters. It became particularly prominent in Usenet newsgroups, where many communities adopted the informal tradition that once a Nazi comparison was made, the thread was effectively over and whoever made the comparison had "lost" the argument. This corollary, while not part of Godwin's original formulation, became so widespread that it is often mistakenly referred to as Godwin's Law itself (Wikipedia, 2025).

The cultural significance of Godwin's Law was formally recognized when it became an entry in the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in 2012 (Wikipedia, 2025). The OED defines it as "A facetious aphorism maintaining that as an online debate increases in length, it becomes inevitable that someone will eventually compare someone or something to Adolf Hitler or the Nazis" (Oxford English Dictionary, 2025). The earliest evidence cited by the OED dates to 1991, reflecting the law's rapid adoption in internet culture.

Godwin's Law experienced renewed prominence during the 2010s and beyond as political discourse became increasingly polarized. Notably, Godwin himself has clarified that his law should not be used to silence legitimate historical comparisons to fascism. During the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, he publicly stated: "By all means, compare these shitheads to Nazis. Again and again. I'm with you" (Know Your Meme, 2025). In December 2023, he wrote in The Washington Post that comparing Donald Trump to Hitler was justified, stating: "But when people draw parallels between Donald Trump's 2024 candidacy and Hitler's progression from fringe figure to Great Dictator, we aren't joking" (Wikipedia, 2025).

The law's influence extends far beyond its original internet context, having been referenced in academic studies on digital communication, mainstream media analysis of political rhetoric, and popular culture. Godwin's Law represents a unique intersection of internet culture, historical awareness, and rhetorical criticism—demonstrating how digital communities can develop their own forms of social regulation and cultural critique.