"As someone who makes his bones writing satirical “fake” news stories, all this discussion of “fake news” is hilarious and alarming to me. I’ve written articles that went so viral some poor schmucks at Snopes had to fact-check them. My work can be found fairly regularly on The Huffington Post. So, I feel like I’m a pretty well-qualified person to speak about “fake news” because I openly peddle it every chance I get. But what disturbs me is that big list of fake news sites that’s growing includes sites like The Onion and a couple of outlets I actually syndicate my work on, and we Satiristas are getting lumped in with pure propagandists.
That needs to stop. Now.
Satire is a beautiful art form. Yes, it relies heavily on verbal chicanery and the hope that at least some people will believe it at first, at least enough to read past the headline. But if you read a satirical piece, a truly satirical work of fiction, and come away believing it’s propaganda, chances are you just simply don’t like the point the piece is making. Because there is a world of difference between spreading false information about Trump winning the popular vote and sharing a story about Trump being endorsed by the Illinois Nazi Party."
Full Article Via Modern Liberal
