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The nation’s aquariums are now open to commercial fishing. Apple is launching an app called Deli+. There’s a dog that loves to bungee jump.
These anecdotes are all taken from articles posted to a website called The Onion, and if you’ve ever come across any of its content it may have caught you off guard. That’s because The Onion is a company that publishes satire, which is work that blends entertainment, information, and opinionative elements to create social, moral, or political commentary. Satire can exist across a variety of media and modalities, including film, television, literature, video games and visual art. Additionally, it typically falls into four categories: exaggeration, which inflates a topic beyond the norm to expose its faults, incongruity, which presents things out of place in relation to their surroundings, parody, which ridicules the original inspiration, and reversal, which presents the opposite of situation.
Although not always obvious, satire goes much deeper than humor when political news and elements of persuasion are mixed in. Those who create satire have been hailed as “cultural authorities” and key figures in certain social topics, even capable of feeding into larger movements. The response, however, is not always receptive. According to a 2022 study, satire can motivate negative responses such as fear and anger, especially if a certain group feels offended or targeted.
Satire only works, however, if the audience is aware of the fabrication. Satire is not intentionally deceptive, whereas fake news operates under the guise of truth. However, satire can be destructive when mistaken for the truth. A series of studies from Scientific American found that participants with an inclination toward chaos were more likely to share misinformation, even intentionally. When a piece of satire is shared in a way that defeats its original purpose, comedic or otherwise, the confusion can bring consequences.
So how can you distinguish between satire and hard news? If you come across content that urges you to pause, read upstream. Check the links and follow up on the information that is available. If some or none of it checks out, that’s your first inclination. Additionally, check out the bio of the publisher. Often, satire sites will identify themselves. Consulting a librarian or fact-checking site may also be helpful. In the end, always remember to use your best judgment. If you have any doubts at all, it’s probably best to refrain from sharing. If it seems to wacky, hilarious or outrageous to be true, it probably is.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE: We pulled headlines from “The Onion,” “The Daily Show” news satire segments, and “The New York Times” from the past two weeks. Can you guess where these headlines are from?
News or satire?
There was an error. Please try again.
This test has ended.
