Meta-memes, also known as “regulatory memes” are beliefs whose presence in a network changes the dynamics of how every other meme spreads.
An example of a meta-meme is the belief that “the individual is allowed to change the culture they are in” (see Brian Nosek on believing in culture change). The effect this has is faster mutation rate, and much higher rate of decentralized sources for change.
Another example of a meta-meme is the belief that “traditional wisdom supersedes novel insights” (more salient in specific Islamic cultures compared to the US). This has the effect of slowing down the rate of change & general stability. In general, any meme that alters the host’s epistemology is a meta-meme.
An example of something that is NOT a meta-meme is “non-profits are better than corporations”. This has various downstream effects but does not directly change the general memetic dynamics in a network.