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50 Times People Fell For Fake Satirical Articles And Made Fools Of Themselves Online
Satire is usually meant to be funny. However, it often serves a greater purpose too, providing constructive social criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society.
In the digital age, The Onion is probably the most prevalent satirical publisher—it produces articles on international, national, and local news. Even though The Onion ceased publishing its print edition in 2013, it has survived online where the company has been operating since the spring of 1996.
Occasionally, the serious, straight-faced manner in which The Onion "reports" on non-existent events, happenings, and ideas has resulted in people mistakenly thinking the stories are real news.
In fact, this started happening so often, it even gave birth to a subreddit, collecting screenshots of these gullible folks' reactions. Continue scrolling and check out some of the top posts of r/AteTheOnion, which currently has over 509K members and has started featuring reactions to satire created outside of The Onion too.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
One Of The Many Reasons To Hate Sea World
One of the moderators of the subreddit, TheCats_Bananas, thinks that satirical news is now as important as any other form of comedy. "News outlets have always favored tragic events over uplifting ones so in a way, I think satirical news helps people see the bright side. Or at the very least it makes them consider that there might be a bright side and not everything is as terrible as it is presented on the news," they told Bored Panda.
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#2
Ate The Onion - Left The Cheetos
Robert "Bob" Mankoff, an American cartoonist who was the cartoon editor for The New Yorker for nearly twenty years, agrees with this statement. To justify mockery that is political satire, he goes back to Aristotle: "By holding bad behavior up to ridicule we might, as it were, 'laugh folly out of existence.' Syllogistically, a la Aristotle, it might be put something like this: 1) Politicians behaving badly will be mocked; 2) Politicians don't like to be mocked. 3) Politicians will stop behaving badly."
However, is that what really happens? Not really. But more than two millennia later, political folly is still as much with us despite the fact that political satire reaches more of the populace than ever before, as part of the entertainment industry. "There's now a veritable satiric-industrial complex. Furthermore, that populace is no longer just a passive recipient of Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, The Onion or an occasional New Yorker cover or cartoon, but is actively participating by blogging, Twittering and Facebooking their own material. Don't get me wrong, I like political satire and would like to think that it has some effect other than tweaking the mighty and getting laughs. But I think that would be confusing appearance with reality."
#3
The Onion’s Bias Is Showing Again
TheCats_Bananas believes there are two main reasons why people fall for fake political satire. "The first one [is] that people are used to seeing news on their feeds so when they see a satirical headline, they don't even consider that it might be satirical unless it's extremely farfetched, so they just comment on it without much of a second thought," they said. "The second reason is that in recent times, actual news headlines have gotten so unexpected and ridiculous that people have just accepted the fact that most of it is real so there's little reason to doubt anything anymore."
Their insights really make sense—I think r/AteTheOnion isn't laughing at the people in the pictures; it provides multilayered commentary on political communication and mass media. And that's why the subreddit is awesome.
#4
Damn Liberals And Their Fake News About The Sun
#5
Big Bollocks
#6
Please Tell Me I've Finally Found One
#7
Free Kidneys
Marcellus the Third 4 years ago
Did he also deliver a bucket load of fava beans, and a crate of Chianti?
#8
I’m Done
Truth Monster 4 years ago
This one actually could have been cool if real. Auction off the first doses to help pay for the rollout for us normies.
#9
To Be Fair, It Sounds Like Something He’d Say
Parmeisan 4 years ago (edited)
I'm not even sure it would make the "top 100 most shocking things Trump has said" list.
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Ara Noguera 4 years ago
It would have been hilarious if he had found this post and retweeted it.
Lexi Mitchell 4 years ago
I mean he did say he’d done more for black people than any other president, including the black one.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Well he said he was the chosen one in 2019. They should have used the 25th amendment to get rid of him the very next day.
Alexis draskinis 4 years ago
Are we sure this is an Onion post?! Cause i cant totally see him saying this! Lol!
Paul K. Johnson 4 years ago
He also believes he's been treated worse than Jesus. I wish that were true.
Leslie K Von Dell 4 years ago
I wouldn't be shocked either. How can he possibly shock anybody with anything anymore with what he says. The affect wears off after a while and all that is left is disgust and pity.
Christel Nellemann 4 years ago
I genuinly thouht, he did say that. I must have seen clips of him , selfreffering as the “chosen one”?
Belandriel 4 years ago
This one's really saying it all and shows how far we've come: those are words that the POTUS could actually say. Don't know if I should laugh or cry. And I'm not even a religious person.
Simon Murray 4 years ago (edited)
Im sure he's done more for most religions, that being they were praying for his removal
Alan Constant 2 years ago
I heard him actually say "I've done more for the black man than Abraham Lincoln".
Two Silly Pups 4 years ago
With all the sh*t he's saying, this one is quite easy to fall for, TBH
Meyer Weinstock 4 years ago
Actually, I think that he did say something similar back in 2017 or 2018...
Jonathan Still 4 years ago
Trump's first " Mracle " was turning can entire Wedding Party against themselves and leaving someone else to clean up the mess -because ' he says ' he is " NOT RESPONSIBLE " for the resultant Carnage
Bettye McKee 4 years ago
Whereas the Beatles REALLY DID say, "We're more popular than Jesus Christ."
Ozacoter 4 years ago
If 'cristianism' means idiocy, stealing, sexism, rape, racism and fighting against democracy I guess yes.
Load More Replies... #10
Dont Worry I Told Her It Was Satire
BlackestDawn 4 years ago
While this one is satire it wouldn't really surprise me if the much more militant and extremist segment of vegans would actually make such an argument.
#11
Poor Christians. Don’t Know What Hit Them
#12
Bunch Of Morons
#13
You Know Who Else Didn't Fight In Vietnam? Obama! Thanks Obama
Athena June 4 years ago
Every time I read news about Trump, I am genuinely not sure if it’s satire or not
#14
I Don't Think I Can Trust You Though
#15
Please Help This Girl
#16
Paw Patrol Gets Too Real For This Atetheonioner
Bettye McKee 4 years ago
Didn't he have to reload a couple of times? Sounds like the black Lab was just asking for it.
#17
The President Ladies And Gentlemen
#18
Spray My Kids In The Eyes With Vinegar? I’m Open To It
#19
Such Disrespect
#20
One Giant Leap For Apekind
Hazel Waring 4 years ago
Haha if you think animals haven't been launched into space to die before you've got another thing coming...
#21
Since Posting, Someone Tried To Tell Her In The Comments And She’s Still Arguing
Athena June 4 years ago
Not a James Bond fan? Then why, pray tell, are you so invested in commenting on something about James Bond?
#22
Is There Any Part This Guy Can't Play?
#23
Wake Up And Bite The Babylon Bee
#24
Onion-Like, Still Ate It
Marcellus the Third 4 years ago
Which part of "unbelievable" did they confuse themselves with?
#25
At Least She's Not Wrong
Athena June 4 years ago (edited)
Well... judging by some people’s’ dubious mask wearing technique....quite a large chunk of the population is ‘just stupid’
#26
Found One Today
#27
People Just Can't Accept Facts
PotatoNinja5000 4 years ago
This is obviously fake. Where are the bible-bashing Christians throwing tantrums that they are "totally the nicest and bestest Christian"? 🤣
#28
Dear Old Sarah Here Has Some Interesting Opinions About This Particular Movie Detail
#29
Will Do Anything For Clicks
#30
What In The Hell
#31
How Can You Seriously Think This Is Real
#32
Shared This On Facebook And All Of My Friends Are Freaking Out And Sending Me Frantic DM’s
#33
What A Guy
#34
Eye Enlargement Surgery
#35
Defender Of Truth
#36
I've Found My First In A While. Be Careful On The Roads
#37
The Poster Doesn’t Quite Let The Number “42 Million” Really Sink In
#38
You'd Think The Name Would've Given It Away
#39
Please Be A Joke
Amy Pattie 4 years ago
Oh crap, I too am married to a former teenager. Hope the feds don’t find me.
#40
Go Blow Your Noodle
#41
She Might Actually Be Vegetarian Based On How She Ate That Whole Onion Raw
Bettye McKee 4 years ago
Yes, I'll have the baby back ribs, and make sure it was a white baby.
#42
Americas Team
Truth Monster 4 years ago
if they chopped him in half, that would bring a new meaning to "halftime show"
#43
If I Worked At The Onion, My Office Would Be Full Of Framed Screenshots Like This
Bettye McKee 4 years ago
He should sue them for false imprisonment. He is obviously too tall to be the Ripper.
#44
Idiocracy
#45
I Finally Found One
#46
That Person Who Replied Must Of Felt So Intelligent Writing That
#47
What Are People These Days
#48
That Sweet Sweet Babylon Bee
#49
My Whole Timeline Has Been Quoting This Tweet
Add New Image
What do you think ?
chi-wei shen 4 years ago
Nowadays Onion articles have to be ridiculous to look like satire because articles that sounded satirical 20 years ago became reality.
Lexi Mitchell 4 years ago
The best is still the “‘No way to prevent this’ say officials in only country where this regularly happens” article they put out every time there’s a school shootings (or mass shooting?) It’s always the exact same article with the location name changed. It’s only funny in a sad way, but it gets the point across.
Load More Replies...
Oskar vanZandt 4 years ago
There are WAY too many people out there who don't 'get' sarcasm or satire... unfortunately, these same individuals are those who will believe bold faced lies, told by someone they idolise, even when these fallacious facts completely defy logic.
M O'Connell 4 years ago
The main problem is that we don't seem to teach critical thinking or the scientific method anymore. People can't appreciate satire because they have no internal mechanism to differentiate between logic and humor, so they simply believe everything they read.
Load More Replies...
Lili 4 years ago
To be fair, many real headlines nowadays sound like a joke, as are many people. Wouldn't be surprised if anyone consider those serious.
Casey B 4 years ago
Like idiots dressed as cavemen storm the Capitol building....?
Load More Replies...
Al Christensen 4 years ago
What happens when you cross the credulous with the the eager-to-be-offended? Onion writers laugh even harder.
Serbob 4 years ago
I literally laughed out loud to a lot of these because I recognized them as being satire. What is scary is that people are either completely uneducated or unable to grasp reality and believe these as factual. It's a statement of how easy it is to persuade people to grasp onto a non-truth and run with it. Anti-vaxxers, flat earthers, Covid deniers.... they're believers in a non-truth because someone on the internet convinced them. It's sad that people can't differentiate fact from fiction with common sense.
The 5-star rated 5-star rating system 4 years ago
Imagine if some of those commenters were joking as well...
Kelly Tinker 4 years ago
Gonna be a debbie downer here: I get satire as a form of humor but I don't think it's worth it. The risk of it being interpreted by a large audience as real is too damaging. If they don't understand the satire, it just feels like lies and misinformation seeding distrust. All for a joke.
Jim Ellington 4 years ago
When I live in Chicago, where The Onion was printed(?), earlier this millennium the papers were distributed for free in a multitude of racks around the city. But the racks were always empty - not due to popularity, but because crackheads swiped them all and sold them for $2.00 apiece.
Katchen 4 years ago
My mom once told me The Onion is a real paper after she’d seen a print copy.
Load More Replies...
Onion rings like to make your breath smelly 4 years ago
Ive never heard of these things before and now I am going to decide I'm following The Onion on twitter lol
embarrassed american 4 years ago
The further and further down the list I got, the more tense I was getting. The death of common sense is a tragedy.
H Edwards 4 years ago
The Onion is a satirical site, or were you making a joke?
Load More Replies...
TheSneakyNinja 4 years ago
Yesssss my heroes The Onion and the Babylon Bee are having their time to shine!
CrunChewy McSandybutt 4 years ago
This is exactly why I hate these types of satirical sites. I don't find the humor all that funny, but that is neither here nor there. But these people take it as fact and then they get all agitated and organized. Next thing you know they are storming the capital building.
Kristin Ingersoll 4 years ago
Most entertaining were the comments on BP that were just as oblivious. Like, what article did you think you were reading????
blugeagua 4 years ago
Its amazing to me how these people don't see the article says Onion and that they don't even know what it is.
Catlady6000 4 years ago
I'm in the US and had never even heard of The Onion until I joined BP
Load More Replies... Just saying 4 years ago
I know some very intelligent people who would take these seriously because they are autistic and struggle with sarcasm and satire - ie people not saying directly what they mean.
Gin. No tonic 4 years ago
Help me understand why fake news sites are even a thing? How is that funny?
Dorothy Parker 4 years ago (edited)
Satire has been around for centuries. A way for people to expose the foibles and weaknesses in society. They're trying to make you think.
Load More Replies...
Catlady6000 4 years ago
And yes it is satire, as the title of the post stated. I go back and forth on liking/disliking it. It makes me sad when what was once satire becomes true. If you go back and reread the intro and think about the comments, most of us got the joke. Up voted you for your honest opinion.
Load More Replies... chi-wei shen 4 years ago
Nowadays Onion articles have to be ridiculous to look like satire because articles that sounded satirical 20 years ago became reality.
Lexi Mitchell 4 years ago
The best is still the “‘No way to prevent this’ say officials in only country where this regularly happens” article they put out every time there’s a school shootings (or mass shooting?) It’s always the exact same article with the location name changed. It’s only funny in a sad way, but it gets the point across.
Load More Replies... Oskar vanZandt 4 years ago
There are WAY too many people out there who don't 'get' sarcasm or satire... unfortunately, these same individuals are those who will believe bold faced lies, told by someone they idolise, even when these fallacious facts completely defy logic.
M O'Connell 4 years ago
The main problem is that we don't seem to teach critical thinking or the scientific method anymore. People can't appreciate satire because they have no internal mechanism to differentiate between logic and humor, so they simply believe everything they read.
Load More Replies... Lili 4 years ago
To be fair, many real headlines nowadays sound like a joke, as are many people. Wouldn't be surprised if anyone consider those serious.
Casey B 4 years ago
Like idiots dressed as cavemen storm the Capitol building....?
Load More Replies... Al Christensen 4 years ago
What happens when you cross the credulous with the the eager-to-be-offended? Onion writers laugh even harder.
Serbob 4 years ago
I literally laughed out loud to a lot of these because I recognized them as being satire. What is scary is that people are either completely uneducated or unable to grasp reality and believe these as factual. It's a statement of how easy it is to persuade people to grasp onto a non-truth and run with it. Anti-vaxxers, flat earthers, Covid deniers.... they're believers in a non-truth because someone on the internet convinced them. It's sad that people can't differentiate fact from fiction with common sense.
The 5-star rated 5-star rating system 4 years ago
Imagine if some of those commenters were joking as well...
Kelly Tinker 4 years ago
Gonna be a debbie downer here: I get satire as a form of humor but I don't think it's worth it. The risk of it being interpreted by a large audience as real is too damaging. If they don't understand the satire, it just feels like lies and misinformation seeding distrust. All for a joke.
Jim Ellington 4 years ago
When I live in Chicago, where The Onion was printed(?), earlier this millennium the papers were distributed for free in a multitude of racks around the city. But the racks were always empty - not due to popularity, but because crackheads swiped them all and sold them for $2.00 apiece.
Katchen 4 years ago
My mom once told me The Onion is a real paper after she’d seen a print copy.
Load More Replies... Onion rings like to make your breath smelly 4 years ago
Ive never heard of these things before and now I am going to decide I'm following The Onion on twitter lol
embarrassed american 4 years ago
The further and further down the list I got, the more tense I was getting. The death of common sense is a tragedy.
H Edwards 4 years ago
The Onion is a satirical site, or were you making a joke?
Load More Replies... TheSneakyNinja 4 years ago
Yesssss my heroes The Onion and the Babylon Bee are having their time to shine!
CrunChewy McSandybutt 4 years ago
This is exactly why I hate these types of satirical sites. I don't find the humor all that funny, but that is neither here nor there. But these people take it as fact and then they get all agitated and organized. Next thing you know they are storming the capital building.
Kristin Ingersoll 4 years ago
Most entertaining were the comments on BP that were just as oblivious. Like, what article did you think you were reading????
blugeagua 4 years ago
Its amazing to me how these people don't see the article says Onion and that they don't even know what it is.
Catlady6000 4 years ago
I'm in the US and had never even heard of The Onion until I joined BP
Load More Replies... Just saying 4 years ago
I know some very intelligent people who would take these seriously because they are autistic and struggle with sarcasm and satire - ie people not saying directly what they mean.
Gin. No tonic 4 years ago
Help me understand why fake news sites are even a thing? How is that funny?
Dorothy Parker 4 years ago (edited)
Satire has been around for centuries. A way for people to expose the foibles and weaknesses in society. They're trying to make you think.
Load More Replies... Catlady6000 4 years ago
And yes it is satire, as the title of the post stated. I go back and forth on liking/disliking it. It makes me sad when what was once satire becomes true. If you go back and reread the intro and think about the comments, most of us got the joke. Up voted you for your honest opinion.
Load More Replies...
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