Video uses the term “thought germ” more than meme, but illustrates how emotion ties in as a vector in the spread of ideas – including the birth and escalation of emotion-fueled counter-memes.
Reddit discussion thread about “This Video Will Make You Angry”:
https://www.reddit.com/r/CGPGrey/comments/2yjs25/this_video_will_make_you_angry/
Related: “What Makes Online Content Viral?” By Jonah A. Berger & Katherine L. Milkman
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1528077