Man Arrested In Britain For Briefly Thinking About Sharing Meme

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND — Local man Roger Fisher was arrested this morning on suspicion of briefly considering sharing a meme.

According to authorities, the British online activity monitoring system showed that Fisher’s mouse hovered for a split second over the “Share” icon below a meme mocking the idea that mass murderers were following a “religion of peace.” Within an hour, police had arrived at Fisher’s flat.

“We saw that hesitation, chap,” said Officer Stanley Higginbotham. “It crossed your mind to his that ‘share’ button, for just a moment. There’s no use denying it, old boy. You’ll be going away for a while for this one. Now off we go. Jolly day, isn’t it?”

Fisher reportedly protested that he had never actually shared the meme and had merely been moving his mouse toward the volume control when his cursor happened to pass over the offending button.

“Save it for the magistrate,” Higginbotham replied. “We know what you almost did.”

Fisher’s arrest came as part of a broader crackdown on British citizens thinking things the government doesn’t like. “We’ve made tremendous progress against illegal speech, but people are still thinking about saying offensive things,” said Home Office spokesman Nigel Pemberton. “You may not make a meme, but what about letting your mouse linger close to the laughing emoji? The thought can be every bit as offensive as a Facebook post itself. The only difference is that nobody can see it, which frankly makes it rather more sinister.”

At publishing time, Fisher had been denied bail after the magistrate accused him of thinking of smirking during the arraignment.