I recently published a story to DailyKos that although clearly tagged as #satire and featuring a governor advocating that cartoon ducks be required to wear pants, was nonetheless mistaken by many readers as being a legitimate news story.
While some might find this either amusing or appalling, I myself find it quite understandable. You see, I used to post satirical pieces quite frequently to DailyKos. I interviewed the Devil, posted an eerily prescient piece on a Dubya debate meltdown, covered Christ’s return to Earth, and sought Conversion Therapy to cure me of my heterosexuality.
But in the past few years I’ve found that satire has become increasingly difficult to do. Satirization involves...as does much humor...exaggeration. How does one satirize something that is in itself so over the top bat-shit crazy that not too many years ago its reality would have immediately been recognized as satire? How does one write fiction when, if the real story were presented to any editor as a work of fiction, they’d say “Come on….you’ve got to try to write something that’s believable.”?
With that in mind I have devised a little quiz. Below you will find a grouping of story headlines. It is your job to decide if they are real, or if they are satire. The answers will appear at the end. No peeking!
1) Eighty-five Percent of White Evangelicals Support Boastful, Lying, Thrice-married Serial Adulterer, Say He’s “Good Christian”
2) Republicans Who Oppose Using Tax Money to Aid Needy Americans Lament That Money Sent to Ukraine Could be Used to Aid Needy Americans
3) Congressman Who Claims He Didn’t Witness Systemic Sexual Abuse of College Athletes Named to Oversight Committee
4) Mass Shooting Victims Offered Thoughts and Prayers by Thoughtless, Godless Politicians
5) Majority of Republicans Deem Colleges, Universities Harmful to Society, Prefer People Remain Ignorant
6) Republicans Who Warn of “Government Coming Between You and Your Doctor” Mandate Medically Unnecessary, Invasive, Trans-Vaginal Ultrasounds, Feel No Disconnect
7) Congresswoman Who Angrily Disrupted State of the Union Bemoans Lack of Civility in Restaurant
8) Book Banners and History Deniers Decry “Cancel Culture.”
9) Conservative Commentator Sexualizes M&Ms, Gives “Melts In Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands” Disturbing New Connotation
10) Supporters View Man who Lost Money Owning Casino as Great Businessman
11) Reporters Routinely Hide Blockbuster News Until Book Published, Still Regard Themselves as Journalists
12) News Media Insists Upon Calling Most Radically Activist SCOTUS Justices in History “Conservative.”
13) Republicans who Tout Deregulation of Rail Safety, Environmental Protection Criticize Safety Regulators, EPA, For Not Doing Enough
14) Republicans in Uproar Over Mister Potato Head Call Other People “Snowflakes”
15) Tennessee Legislator Promotes Lynching as Capital Punishment Method, Remains Utterly Lacking in Awareness of Term “Utterly Lacking in Awareness.”
16) Georgia Congresswoman Proposes Red State/Blue State “Divorce,” Forgetting Her State Elected Democratic President And Two Democratic Senators
SCORING:
If you correctly guessed that of the 16 examples, exactly ZERO of them are satire, and ALL 16 are real stories...well then, you understand the challenge facing satirists (and their readers) today.
I’ll check back to see how you did, but right now I’ve got to run. I’ve come up with a story about how most Republicans believe that Democrats belong to a cult of pedophiles who traffic children via a system of underground tunnels in order to drink their blood. Nobody would believe that was real, would they?
