{"id":1990,"date":"2017-05-19T08:25:37","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T13:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/?p=1990"},"modified":"2017-05-19T08:27:19","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T13:27:19","slug":"on-satire-and-fake-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/on-satire-and-fake-news\/","title":{"rendered":"On Satire and Fake News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I started reading fake news as a kid, saving the money I earned shoveling snow to buy Mad<\/em> magazine with its \u201cWhat Me, Worry?\u201d mascot Alfred E. Neuman. His gap-toothed clueless smile, freckled nose and jug ears in various personas graced most every cover. Inside, the content included the type of satire that appealed to kids who had a bit of knowledge of current affairs.<\/p>\n

From there, I graduated to National Lampoon, which contained more sophisticated satire, some of which was indisputably tasteless. The magazine had to apologize for a fake Volkswagen Beetle ad, which played off a real ad claiming a Beetle would float. After Sen. Ted Kennedy drove off the Chappaquiddick Bridge and Mary Jo Kopechne, a young woman with him, drowned, National Lampoon ran a takeoff of the VW ad, depicting it floating in water. The caption read, \u201cIf Ted Kennedy drove a Volkswagen, he\u2019d be President today.<\/p>\n

Now that goes beyond tasteless, in my view. I didn\u2019t care about the satire hurting Kennedy\u2019s feelings, but certainly the Kopechne family should have been spared the pain this doubtless caused.<\/p>\n

These magazines are still in existence, though their popularity has waned, succeeded particularly by The Onion<\/em>, which bills itself as \u201cAmerica\u2019s Finest News Source.\u201d It\u2019s fake news, of course, though I suspect its creators prefer the terms \u201chumor\u201d or \u201csatire.\u201d Examples of some recent headlines:<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cKicking, Screaming Warren Buffett Dragged From Caesars Palace After Losing Everything At Roulette Wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cCrowd Shocked After Unhinged Trump Dangles Baby From Truman Balcony.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cSean Spicer Quietly Puts Painting Back Over Unfinished Escape Tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anyone with just a modicum of common sense understands that these are all examples of political satire, which has a venerable tradition dating back in America to Benjamin Franklin and his \u201cPoor Richard\u2019s Almanack.\u201d The word satire derives from the Latin satura, meaning a bowl of mixed fruits \u2014 a medley. Satire goes back to the ancient Greeks; Aristophanes is often referred to as the father of comedy for poking fun of how Athenian leaders conducted the Peloponnesian War.<\/p>\n

All but the most gullible understand the difference between satire and actual reporting. One might not think the satirical piece is funny; that seems, for some folks, to depend on whose ox is being gored. Even so, people recognize that this is an attempt to make readers \u2014 or viewers \u2014 laugh. <\/p>\n

Another venerable purveyor of fake news are the supermarket tabloids, which have diminished in popularity because of the same print advertising and circulation downturns that the mainstream media has endured. The tabloids combined sort-of true stories with outright fiction. My personal favorite was Weekly World News<\/em>, whose go-to fake story invariably involved aliens, such as this October 2013 headline: \u201cAlien Spaceships To Attack Earth in December 2013.\u201d Whoops. Didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

Then there is \u201creal\u201d fake news, the kind that has dominated the national conversation for several months. This is a far more sinister form of the genre, because it is widely believed to have influenced how some voters cast ballots \u2014 though how many likely will never be known. Fake news became so prevalent during last year\u2019s campaign that Facebook \u2014 rather belatedly \u2014 began cracking down on sites and posted \u201cTips to Spot False News.\u201d The tips included watch for poorly written headlines and misspelled names. In other words, a headline that says \u201cFormer President Barrack Osama Join ISIS\u201d is a sure sign this is fake news. <\/p>\n

Muddying the issue: people who don\u2019t like certain news outlets, such as the present occupant of the Oval Office, decry them by labeling such organizations as the New York Times<\/em> and CNN as fake news. This is both ridiculous and untrue, and a slap in the face of a profession of which I am proud to have been a member for four decades. The vast majority of journalists \u2014 at outlets large and small \u2014 take great pride in trying to get it right. They do not always succeed, and their mistakes are in print or online for all to see. What is heartening is that aggressive journalism is bringing more readers and viewers, not fewer, to these outlets. Citizens are turning to what have traditionally been the most trusted news sources instead of relying on what Facebook friends share online.<\/p>\n

My advice: Be skeptical of claims that come from news sites with which one is not familiar. Use snopes.com or Google to check out something posted that sounds too wacko to be true. The recent claim that Hillary Clinton was linked to a satanic cult involved in child kidnapping is just one example. Really? Someone who actually believes that needs serious counseling.<\/p>\n

And do not spread fake news just because it happens to agree with your worldview, whatever it is. I stick with the much-maligned mainstream media: the Times, Washington Post,<\/em> National Public Radio are top of the list, as well as our local newspaper. I am quick to unfollow someone with a penchant for posting fake news.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have time for this foolishness, and you shouldn\u2019t either.<\/p>\n

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