News satire or news comedy is a type of

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

presented in a format typical of mainstream

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (p ...

, and called a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...

because of its content. News satire has been around almost as long as journalism itself, but it is particularly popular on the

web Web most often refers to: * Spider web, a silken structure created by the animal * World Wide Web or the Web, an Internet-based hypertext system Web, WEB, or the Web may also refer to: Computing * WEB, a literate programming system created by ...

, with websites like ''

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satire, satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on ...

'' and '' The Babylon Bee'', where it is relatively easy to mimic a legitimate news site. News satire relies heavily on

irony Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized int ...

and

deadpan humor Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant to be blun ...

. Two slightly different types of news satire exist. One form uses satirical commentary and sketch comedy to comment on real-world events, while the other presents wholly fictionalized news stories.

In history

Author

Samuel Clemens Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

(Mark Twain) was employed as a newspaper reporter before becoming famous as a novelist, and in this position he published many satirical articles. He left two separate journalism positions, Nevada (1864) fleeing a challenge to duel and San Francisco fleeing outraged police officials because his satire and fiction were often taken for the truthful accounts they were presented as. Ironically, the accuracy of many newspaper and autobiographical accounts used to follow the early life of Samuel Clemens is in doubt. Newspapers still print occasional news satire features, in particular on

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

. This news is specifically identified somewhere in the paper or in the next day as a joke. In 1933 and 1934,

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

released a series of ten one-reel theatrical shorts called ''

Goofy Movies Peter Schmidt (September 4, 1892 – January 12, 1979), known professionally as Pete Smith, was an American producer and narrator of short subject films. A native of New York City, Smith began working as a publicist at Metro-Goldwyn-Maye ...

'', which included "Wotaphony Newsreel", a

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...

parody that paired actual footage with a mocking,

deadpan Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant to be blun ...

narration. Also in 1934, halfway through a

Kraft Music Hall ''The Kraft Music Hall'' was a popular old-time radio variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired first on NBC radio from 1933 to 1949. Radio ''The Kraft Program'' debuted June 26, 1933, as a musical-variety program ...

radio show, Dean Taylor ("Others collect the news, Dean makes it!") narrated a fake newsreel which began with a report on the New York Giants and Philadelphia Phillies being cancelled due to bad weather, and baseball season being rescheduled to when farmers need rain.

On television

News satire has been prevalent on television since the 1960s, when it enjoyed a renaissance in the UK with the "Satire Boom", led by comedians including Peter Cook,

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

, Jonathan Miller,

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...

Eleanor Bron Eleanor Bron (born 14 March 1938) is an English stage, film and television actress, and an author. Her film roles include Ahme in the Beatles musical '' Help!'' (1965), the Doctor in '' Alfie'' (1966), Margaret Spencer in '' Bedazzled'' (1967), ...

, and

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...

, and the television program ''

That Was The Week That Was ''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pr ...

''. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

network adapted this program and also produced its own content, from the "news" segment of '' Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In'', to the still-running ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'' mock newscast segment "

Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typic ...

Cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

got into the cable news act with

Home Box Office Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is b ...

's ''

Not Necessarily the News ''Not Necessarily the News'' (shortened as ''NNTN'') is an American satirical sketch comedy series that first aired on HBO in September 1982 as a comedy special, and then ran as a series from 1983 to 1990. For most of the run, the series featured ...

'' in the mid-1980s. In the 2000s, Comedy Central's ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form fr ...

'' became an icon of the American political satire genre, as

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted '' The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts '' ...

delved into opinionated political criticism. Its spinoff,

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...

's ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...

'', also enjoyed a high level of popularity during its 9-year run. The 2004 National Annenberg Election Survey found that ''Daily Show'' viewers were better informed than those who relied solely on conventional network news, and Steven Young of ''

Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media. The offices of the ''D ...

'' compares the trust and influence that long-time host

enjoyed to that of CBS anchor

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...

in the 1970s. However, a study published in the ''Journal of Communication'' suggests that news entertainment shows such as ''The Daily Show'' or ''The Colbert Report'' may not be as influential in teaching voters about political issues and candidates as was previously thought. Researchers from Ohio State University have found reasons to discount how effective these shows are in informing the general public. People watching television news learned more about a candidate's position on issues and about political procedures compared to those watching the news entertainment shows, while news entertainment shows primarily taught viewers about a candidate’s personal background. After the success of ''The Daily Show'',

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is o ...

launched its own news satire program in February 2007 with the title of '' The 1/2 Hour News Hour''. Its creator describes it as "The Daily Show for conservatives", but it was canceled within a few months. Fox News then launched the more successful series '' Red Eye'' which ran from February 6, 2007 to April 7, 2017. As of 2017, news satire in the United States remains popular, especially in

late night television Late night television is one of the dayparts in television broadcast programming. It follows prime time and precedes the overnight television show graveyard slot. The slot generally runs from about 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. ET, with variations ...

;

late-night talk show A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show popular in the United States, where the format originated. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It i ...

s often incorporate elements of news satire. Current American programs known primarily for their news satire include those hosted by former correspondents for ''The Daily Show'' ( John Oliver's ''

Last Week Tonight A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts typically come in pairs and have been made from various materials, including hardwoods, cast iron, an ...

'',

Samantha Bee Samantha Anne Bee (born October 25, 1969) is a Canadian-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actress, and television host. Bee rose to fame as a correspondent on '' The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'', where she became th ...

's '' Full Frontal'', and ''The Daily Show'' itself under Trevor Noah's tenure), as well as

Bill Maher William Maher (; born January 20, 1956) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show '' Real Time with Bill Maher'' (2003–present) and the similar ...

's '' Real Time''. In

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, several news satires have been created, most famously the works of Chris Morris. Shows such as the radio series ''

On the Hour ''On the Hour'' was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992. Written by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring a ...

'' and its television version '' The Day Today'' parodied news programs very accurately, so they were almost believable and could have been confused with actual news programs, if it was not for the fake stories reported. Morris went on to continue this and several other themes in '' Brass Eye'', one of the most controversial series on British television, especially after one episode broadcast mocked the way the news covered stories about

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...

. Previous news satire shows in Britain include: '' The Late Edition'' with

Marcus Brigstocke Marcus Alexander Brigstocke (born 8 May 1973) is a British comedian, actor and satirist. He has worked in stand-up comedy, television, radio and musical theatre. He has appeared on many BBC television and radio shows. Early life Brigstocke is ...

, on digital station

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

, which was heavily influenced by ''The Daily Show''; '' News Knight with Sir Trevor McDonald'', which parodied news differently by using an actual newsreader as the host; and '' Broken News'', which featured several sketches of different news channels blending into each other. As of 2018, current British news-related programs that have been described as satire include: '' Have I Got News for You'' and ''

Mock the Week ''Mock the Week'' is a British topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. The programme was present ...

'' on the BBC;

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

's '' The Last Leg''; ITV's ''

Newzoids ''Newzoids'' is a British topical satirical sketch show, which was co-produced by Citrus Television and Factory for ITV and broadcast for two series between 15 April 2015 and 8 October 2016. The programme operated in a similar format to ''Spitti ...

''; and

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

's '' Unspun with Matt Forde''. Recent news satire television series in Australia include Working Dog Productions' ''

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

'',

Shaun Micallef Shaun Patrick Micallef (; born 18 July 1962) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer and television presenter. He is currently the host of the satirical news comedy series '' Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell'' on the ABC. He also hosted the game ...

's '' Newstopia'', and the many programs created by

The Chaser The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedy group, best known for their television programmes and satirical news masthead. The group take their name from their satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. Th ...

since 2001. As of 2017, current programs of the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owne ...

include '' Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell'' and ''

The Weekly with Charlie Pickering ''The Weekly with Charlie Pickering'' is an Australian news satire series on the ABC. The series premiered on 22 April 2015, featuring Charlie Pickering as host with Tom Gleeson, Adam Briggs and Judith Lucy in the cast who joined the show i ...

''. In Canada, '' This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' is an ensemble news satire show with four anchors on CBC. The ''

Rick Mercer Report ''Rick Mercer Report'' (also called the ''Mercer Report'' or ''RMR'') is a Canadian television comedy series which aired on CBC Television from 2004 to 2018. Launched in 2004, as ''Rick Mercer's Monday Report'', or simply ''Monday Report'', by ...

'' is a spinoff of ''22 Minutes'' with former anchor

Rick Mercer Richard Vincent "Rick" Mercer (born October 17, 1969) is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and author. He is best known for his work on the CBC Television comedy shows '' This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' and ''Rick Merc ...

, and is also shown on CBC.

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of C ...

features ''

This Is That ''This is That'' was a news satire program broadcast on CBC Radio, which aired comedic news stories presented in the style of a real CBC Radio public affairs program.Natasha LedermanCBC Radio satirical show 'This Is That' sparks as much outrage ...

'', an improvised news satire program which mimics the style of actual CBC Radio public affairs programs. The 1960s series ''

This Hour Has Seven Days ''This Hour Has Seven Days'' was a CBC Television news magazine that ran from 1964 to 1966, offering viewers in-depth analysis of the major social and political stories of the previous week. The show, inspired by the BBC and NBC-TV satire seri ...

'', although primarily a real newsmagazine, included some satirical features in its format, such as political humor songs by actress and singer

Dinah Christie Dinah Barbara Christie (born 1942) is a Canadian actress and singer. Christie was born in London, England. One of the five children of actors Robert and Margot Christie, she came to Canada at the age of two with her parents and grew up in Toront ...

. On French-language television networks in Quebec, noted news satire shows have included ''

La Fin du monde est à 7 heures ''La Fin du monde est à 7 heures'' ("The end of the world is at 7 o'clock") was a Quebec television comedy series, which aired on TQS from 1997 to 2000."Labreche is the name; playing host is the plan". '' The Gazette'', March 6, 2000. The show was ...

'', '' Et Dieu créa... Laflaque'' and '' Infoman''. In Germany, heute-show ( ZDF), and formerly Wochenshow (on SAT.1) and Freitag Nacht News (on RTL) are popular news satires on TV. The

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

ian show ''

El Bernameg ''Al-Bernameg'' ( ar, البرنامج, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: elberˈnæːmeɡ.html" ;"title="/nowiki>elberˈnæːmeɡ">/nowiki>elberˈnæːmeɡ literally "The Show") was an Egyptian news satire program. The show was hosted by Bassem Y ...

'', hosted by

Bassem Youssef Bassem Raafat Mohamed Youssef ( ar, باسم رأفت محمد يوسف, ; born 21 March 1974) is an Egyptian comedian, writer, producer, surgeon, doctor, media critic, and television host, who hosted '' El-Bernameg'' (''The Show''), a satirica ...

(on Capital Broadcast Center 2011-13 and MBC MASR from 2014 on), is modeled on ''The Daily Show''. Launched in the wake of the

Egyptian Revolution of 2011 The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...

, it has been quite popular, but also a source of tremendous controversy, as Youssef has repeatedly been under investigation by the authorities for his willingness to poke fun at powerful people. In France, Rendez-Vous avec Kevin Razy on

Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

hosted by the comedian Kévin Razy between 2017 and 2019 was modeled on ''Last Week Tonight'' and 'The Tonight Show' with a band.

Online

News satire has been posted on the web almost since its inception, with ''

'' foremost among recognized news satire sites due to its enduring and profitable business model. The content of the website, which started in 1996, is syndicated through mainstream media sites such as CNN and

CNET ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...

. Today there are hundreds of news satire sites online, among which '' The Babylon Bee'', considered the politically conservative counterpart of The Onion and also the more visited of the two. Sites such as ''Hollywood Leek'' specialize in satirical articles about celebrities and Hollywood entertainment news. Sometimes fake news reporters influence real world politics, like Citizen Kate whose 90 episodes covered the 2008 presidential campaign trail. She commissioned a butter bust of Obama presented to him by the Butter Cow Lady of Iowa, making international headlines. El Koshary Today is an Egyptian website that carries fake international news stories. Other satire sites attempt to emulate a genuine news source of some sort; these sites now take a variety of forms. Because interesting stories are often emailed and can quickly become separated from their point of origin, it is not uncommon for news satire stories to be picked up as real by the

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

, as happened with a ''

Faking News Faking News, originally started as a form of blog, was an Indian news satire website that published fake news reports containing satire on politics and society of India.

'' story about a lawsuit against Axe by an Indian man after having failed to attract a girl. Additionally, a parody post on Al Sharpton's parody News Groper blog was quoted as if real by MSNBC. Another satire publication, ''The Giant Napkin'', published an article about a man literally fighting his house fire with more fire, a story taken seriously by several social networking sites. That

Google News Google News is a news aggregator service developed by Google. It presents a continuous flow of links to articles organized from thousands of publishers and magazines. Google News is available as an app on Android, iOS, and the Web. Google re ...

accepts news satire sources helps contribute to this phenomenon; while Google News does mark such stories with a "satire" tag, not all readers notice the tag; moreover, sometimes satirical sources may not carry the tag. At least one site, ''thespoof.com'', relies on

user-generated content User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), is any form of content, such as images, videos, text, testimonials, and audio, that has been posted by users on online platforms such as social media, discussion f ...

in a Web 2.0 manner. Some websites like ''Literally Unbelievable'' post the genuine and shocked reactions of individuals who believe the satirical articles are real. The reactions are taken from

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...

websites, such as

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

, in which users can directly comment on links to the article's source. Multi-author Indian website ''News That Matters Not'', launched in November 2009, won a Manthan South Asia Award for socially responsible e-content (Digital Inclusion for Development), organized by Digital Empowerment Foundation. In

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, several community-based news satire websites have crept up in recent times. Their popularity on

defines that they are popular amongst the masses. Very new websites such as The Scoop Times, Fakekhabar.com, Sunkey.co.in and

The UnReal Times "The UnReal Times" was an Indian satire, spoof, parody and humour portal featuring satirical articles on politics, entertainment, cricket, media, international affairs and society. Founded in 2011, the portal publishes fake news reports, comic str ...

also claim to be run by students, and were covered in ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...

'' in July 2011. A plethora of news satire sites participate in a hosted community site, which additionally runs its own satire news feed on HumorFeed. HumorFeed is notable for its relatively high standards of admission and active community involvement. At present, over 60 sites are contributing members, at least eight of which have published books and two of which publish regular hard-copy periodicals. Several HumorFeed members also run ''Check Please!'', an online journal devoted to the serious examination of online satire, ranging from its role in relation to actual journalism to practical considerations of producing an online satire site. In July 2009, a satire piece about

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

published on the website ScrapeTV was picked up by numerous media outlets and reported as factual, despite disclaimers on the site. Satirical Twitter accounts of news sources are popular, and they are often mistaken as legitimate sources. Online publications have made quizzes challenging users to distinguish between the tweets of the real ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

'' and the tweets of their parodies. The @Salondotcom parody account confused so many Twitter users that the real Salon.com reported them for impersonation. In Pakistan, Khabaristan Times (KT) is a renowned satire and parody website with its commentary on Pakistani politics and the military. In 2015, a satirical piece by the website went viral and international media outlets including

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

reported the story as if it were true. In 2017, KT was reportedly blocked in Pakistan, however, it appeared to be available to users outside Pakistan. In the Middle East, '' The Pan-Arabia Enquirer'' is the most widely read satirical news website. It gained notoriety in 2013 when an article about Emirates launching shisha lounges on its fleet of A380s was picked up as fact by news websites around the world

another middle eastern satire news publisher, has gained publicity in the region when they published an article about the Jordanian police arresting Santa Claus and confiscating all of his gifts for not paying the

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

before entering

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. In Turkey, Zaytung has become a source of mass reading since the socio-political Gezi Park

2013 protests in Turkey A wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Turkey began on 28 May 2013, initially to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul's Taksim Gezi Park. The protests were sparked by outrage at the violent eviction of a sit-in at the park prote ...

. In the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago-based website Wired868 has two satirical columnists under the pseudonyms Mr Live Wire and Filbert Street, who comment satirically on relevant political and news stories such as the fall from power of ex-FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, media issues, general news and the challenges faced by former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her People's Partnership coalition Government. In Australia, there are numerous satirical news websites including
The Damascus Dropbear
(Christian satire),'' ''The Shovel, The Betoota Advocate'', ''The (Un)Australian'', ''The Fault Report'', ''The Sauce'' and ''The Tunnel Presents''. ''The Shovel'' mainly satirizes the Australian political and social culture and ''The Betoota Advocate'' satirizes the political right and Australian journalism. In February 2015, ''The Betoota Advocate'' shot to fame after the publication's editor's sneaked in to the media scrum outside Parliament House in Canberra during a leadership spill motion and managed to interview some of Australia's most high-profile media personalities and politicians, posing as legitimate journalists. The fallout from ''The Betoota Advocate'' stunt has led to a security increase surrounding parliamentary media and screening of all crew. ''The Fault Report'' was established in 2014 and also has a political editorial focus. British-born Australian author John Birmingham once described ''The Fault Report'' as, "Like ''The Onion''. But with Vegemite", on his blog Cheeseburger Gothic. ''The Tunnel Presents'', which has been online since June 2011, is by Brisbane-based satire writing team The Tunnel and has political and social satire stories with a

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

focus. In Italy, the most famous website specialized in mock-journalism is ''

Lercio Lercio is an Italian site of news satire providing humorous and grotesque articles, headlines, polls and other columns to satirize the tone and format of sensationalistic press, in the style of '' The Onion.'' History The site, founded by Mi ...

''. Born as a parody of the popular press, but in addition to the tabloid press, its goals are also the domestic and foreign politics. The website was created in the 2012 and the editorial staff is composed of authors who have contributed to ''La Palestra'', a column wanted on his blog by the comedian and satirical author

Daniele Luttazzi Daniele Luttazzi (; born Daniele Fabbri on 26 January 1961) is an Italian theater actor, writer, satirist, illustrator and singer. His stage name is an homage to musician and actor Lelio Luttazzi. His favourite topics are politics, religion, ...

. In few years ''Lercio'' saw the publication of a book with a collection of 2014 best articles. From the same year ''Lercio'' it is present on the national radio with a daily strip. Thanks to the many fans the articles are shared on the social network with a good success and, mostly in the beginning of his history, some articles were taken as true by the national press. In

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

, HírCsárda is the number one news satire medium. The site, started in 2010, has drawn public attention after the Hungarian government demanded that an article should be emended that dealt with the then state secretary of education Rózsa Hoffmann. The page has since been threatened by various celebrities, but has remained active regardless. Also present in Hungary is Központi Újság (Central News), a news satire website of the joke party. :)

Hungarian Two-tailed Dog Party The Hungarian Two Tailed Dog Party ( hu, Magyar Kétfarkú Kutya Párt; MKKP) is a joke political party in Hungary. It was founded in Szeged in 2006, but did not register as an official political party until 2014. The party's main activity is ...

. Popular Canadian satirical news websites include

The Beaverton ''The Beaverton'' is a primarily online Canadian news satire publication, based in Toronto, Montreal and Whitehorse.The Daily Bonnet ''The Daily Bonnet'' is a satirical Mennonite website. It was created by Andrew Unger and launched in May 2016. It features news stories and editorials, with the structure of conventional newspapers, but whose content is contorted to make humor ...

, and Walking Eagle News.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:News Satire Criticism of journalism Satirical publications Satirical websites Satire

In history

On television

Online

See also

References