The news cycle is tumultuous. News satirists aim to deliver the laughs people 'need so badly'
Satirical fake news differs from rampant misinformation, says The Onion historian
Given a federal election campaign, whiplash over tariffs, a mercurial leader to the south, plus a steady stream of everything else going on in the world, satirists think humour can be the balm we need.
Today's tumultuous news cycle is proving to be prime source material for satirical news outlets, but unlike their predecessors, they also face a thorny challenge: distinguishing their comedic "fake news" from nefarious misinformation and disinformation.
In dark or difficult times, satirists have to "meet the moment" they're in, says Luke Gordon Field, editor in chief of Canadian satirical outlet the Beaverton.
"The fact that every day we kind of live in this chaos bubble of, 'What's going to happen? What's [U.S. President Donald Trump] going to throw at us next?' ... You have to strive to do what the Onion did so beautifully after 9/11, which is give people that laugh that they need so badly," he told The Sunday Magazine host Piya Chattopadhyay.
Satirical news stories won't change how someone votes or sway the course of an election, Field says. But he thinks satirists — as modern-day court jesters — can still inspire reflection and clarity, with humour as their delivery method.
"Calling out the BS when we see it … and let people laugh at something that might otherwise make them stress out or cry," he said in Toronto.
"Not to be a complete pessimist about the world, but it doesn't seem like things are going to get wonderful any time soon."
When faced with a changing landscape where real news can sometimes seem like an Onion headline, satirists may have to try out creative new approaches, "entering the conversation" differently than before, says Christine Wenc, a founding member of the Onion and author of Funny Because It's True, a recently published historical account about the influential publication and website.
She points to the Onion's attempt to buy the disgraced disinformation site Infowars as one example.
"That's still hung up in court — no surprise there — but I thought that was very interesting that the Onion was kind of crossing into the real world in a new way," she said from Madison, Wis.
"A good satirist should be able to kind of take on anything."
Satirical fake news vs 'bad' fake news
In its early days during the 1990s, Onion staffers relished folks falling for their stories, Wenc said. She recalled, for instance, a satirical piece about a "nicotine stick" smoke-cessation aid — itself a cigarette — which drew emails from smokers trying to kick the habit and seeking the made-up product.
Yet with rampant misinformation and disinformation flooding the internet today, she describes a shift in thinking amongst that original crew. "Now they're like, 'Yeah, maybe we shouldn't have been quite so excited about how easy it is to fool people.'"
That said, Wenc emphasizes what she calls a clear distinction.
"The point of satire is to reveal and to make the world a better place, to point things out that are actually happening. And I think a lot of the bad fake news is just sowing chaos and destruction and making people afraid," she said.
"Not all fake news is the same."
Field admits folks still fall for Beaverton articles given the site's traditional news look and tone, but he believes there's an onus on the audience to think critically about what they see online.
"I just don't think it's the Onion or the Beaverton's responsibility to get people to understand that what some random website — with a domain name that sounds kind of like ABC News, but isn't ABC News — is saying is probably not accurate."
Interviews produced by Andrea Hoang
