We can all applaud the brave journalist who went out, risked their career, and uncovered one of the biggest news stories of the decade. But what about the dedicated few that write pure fiction? The ones that risk their careers (by looking stupid) and also uncover some of the biggest stories of the decade (tales that are completely false)?The Onion, one of the nation's best parody newspapers, has been publishing fake and hilarious articles for the last twenty years. While most are blatantly obvious in their less than official nature, some are harder to decifer. In 2002, Reuters reported that the Beijing Evening News republished some translated portions of and Onion article "Congress Threatens To Leave D.C. Unless New Capitol Is Built". Obviously, this is completely false. The article in itself was a parody of sports teams demanding their own stadiums all the time. Yes, even real news outlets can get it wrong sometimes.
But, to be fair, the Onion does have actual new stories in there. Depending on the local area, it can be a restaurant review, or an opinion of a local band. The newspaper is most infamous for it's cover articles, the stories that have no validity whatsoever. This cover, obviously not published at the time of the actual event, is a prime example. The newspaper has even had books, just with pictures of their "covers", published. They can be purchase anywhere, especially the internet.
Here's to another twenty years of completely fake, and completely wonderful, news.
