Satirical news site, The Onion, is grinning ear to ear these days, after another newspaper took one of their fake stories and printed it as truth. This time is was Chinese Communist government run paper, The People’s Daily.
The Onion, known for it’s cutting edge satirical comedy, ran a piece proclaiming ” The Sexiest Man Alive” is none other than North Korea’s President Kim Jong Un. In response The People’s Daily dedicated a 55-page spread to the leader using direct quotes from The Onion:
“With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman’s dream come true,” they printed, along with other descriptions like:
“Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper’s editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile.”
The paper ran a number of pictures with the story of Kim Jong Un horseback riding, with his army, and waving to crowds.
They weren’t the only paper in Asia to believe the story to be true. South Korea’s “The Korean Daily” also ran the story as true, which probably ticked off a fair number of South Koreans who aren’t fans of the North Korean regime.
Iran’s ‘Fars’ news agency is another victim of The Onion’s falsified news stories, believing their article that most Americans would rather vote for their President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than Barack Obama.
Just goes to prove fact checking is a skill to be honed, developed and most importantly, used. [ Source ]
