This article was originally posted on RealClearScience.

Godwin’s Law ought to be enshrined next to Newton’s Laws or Kepler’s Laws for all posterity. For the uninitiated, Godwin’s Law states, “As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.” The concept was devised by Mike Godwin in 1990 and officially codified into law in a Wired article in 1994. Since then, the evidence for this law has only gotten stronger.

Because of the unquestioned veracity of Godwin’s Law, it is perhaps inevitable that a journalist will, eventually, be compared to a Nazi. We could even formulate a corollary called Godwin’s Law of Journalism: “As a journalist’s career grows longer, the probability he or she will be compared to Nazis or Hitler approaches one.”

And I have evidence. Continue reading →