Imagine you’re writing a paper about internet culture, and you want to quote a popular meme that says, “This Is Fine.” The meme is everywhere, but who made it? No one knows. In your in-text citation, you’d write (“This Is Fine”). That’s it. You’ve given credit to the thing itself, not the mystery creator. It feels weird, but it’s correct.
Your reader might chuckle, but they’ll also respect your honesty. You didn’t pretend to know something you didn’t. And in a world of fake news, honesty is a superpower.
