# Is there really a target audience for fake news sites? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 8, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314 "2015-01-08T14:57:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/1 "2015-01-08T14:57:24Z")
One of the things I do frequently is read the Snopes’ “What’s New” page. Frequently, the page is lousy with stories shared on social media that originate from a handful of fake news sites. For instance, this morning there was a story about Jaden Smith starting a clothing line called “666” because god told him to. My question is this: I can understand if a site published these stories just to have them shared on facebook so they could go “Ha ha, fooled you”, but is there actually an audience who reads stories like this and finds humor/entertainment in them? I mean, I understand satire, but Empire News reporting that [Screech](http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/screechmurder.asp) was convicted of murder instead of the factual truth that an assault took place, or that [Bruno Mars](http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/brunojackson.asp) is really Michael Jackson’s son don’t seem to really be anything more than “made you look”. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/2 "2015-01-08T15:00:58Z")
Obviously there is an audience. Lots of people find satire funny. Have you ever read [The Onion](http://www.theonion.com/)? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/3 "2015-01-08T15:02:32Z")
I’d say it’s all variations on click-bait. Even sober, respectable news and info sites seem to have a bottom half of trashy, nonsensical links these days. If it’s so out of control that the second-rate sites have to link to crap/fake/e-tabloid sites… I am unsurprised. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/4 "2015-01-08T15:18:55Z")
> [@Daddypants](#): > > Obviously there is an audience. Lots of people find satire funny. Have you ever read [The Onion](http://www.theonion.com/)? Yep. I’ve read The Onion. Not only is it funny, it’s actually satire. The “news” sites referenced in the OP are neither. Where is the satire in reporting, in apparently full seriousness, that Screech murdered someone? The satire must be too subtle for my feeble mind. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/5 "2015-01-08T15:19:31Z")
Of course there’s an audience. There’s even an audience of people who would travel to a supermarket or newsstand and plunk down actual money [to](http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/archive/2011/06/1_123125_123019_2279921_2296034_110615_pbox_tabloid.jpg.CROP.thumbnail-small.jpg) [allow](http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/blogphotos/Blog_Presidents_Brain.gif) [themselves](http://www.prometheusbooks.com/images/iwatchedawildhog.jpg) [to](http://media3.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/g-ent-100212-brangelina-covers.grid-6x2.jpg) [be](http://www.witherspoonpath.com/2013-11-10/Tabloid%20001.png) [seen](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/44/ce/6f/44ce6fb2a76a2c84ef6cc3de475f1e66.jpg) [reading](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b8/Globe_magazine_cover.png/220px-Globe_magazine_cover.png) [that](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bb/National_Enquirer_(cover).jpg) [stuff](http://www.sweetprudence.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/COVER_BF_love-slave.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/6 "2015-01-08T15:30:31Z")
> [@Daddypants](#): > > Obviously there is an audience. Lots of people find satire funny. Have you ever read [The Onion](http://www.theonion.com/)? For the most part calling them satire is a bit of a stretch. Satire is supposed to make some kind of point. What’s the point of saying Dustin Diamond’s stabbing victim died? What’s funny about it? The Onion publishes a handful of funny stories, but a lot of them are realistic looking stories that aren’t the tiniest bit funny, other than allowing people to smugly mock people who believed them. But the smug people don’t seem to understand that it’s not unreasonable to think a well written, serious looking article could be factual. It’s not uncommon to see stories that look a lot [like this](http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-couple-closet-daytona-state-college-20141231-story.html)in the Onion. The Onion isn’t as well known as a lot of people seem to think, and there’s nothing about the name that would indicate it’s a humor site, especially considering there are [legit papers with similar names](http://warwickinfo.net/floridaonion/). ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/7 "2015-01-08T16:14:32Z")
I disagree about this opinion of The Onion: " but a lot of them are realistic looking stories that aren’t the tiniest bit funny." I think there is a big difference between [Dustin Diamond Charged With Murder](http://www.donotlink.com/framed?609793) and: [it sadly unclear whether this article will put lives at risk](http://www.theonion.com/articles/it-sadly-unclear-whether-this-article-will-put,37715/http://) The first has none of the wink-wink indicators that it isn’t meant to be taken seriously, while the second does. The first _could_ be true, similar things have happened, but the second is obviously satire. And while this one is not rip-roaringly funny, no one other than a die-hard CTer would take it seriously either. It’s straight satire: [Government admits it was only behind destruction of North Tower](http://www.theonion.com/articles/government-admits-it-was-only-behind-destruction-o,37699/) ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/8 "2015-01-08T16:33:17Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Yep. I’ve read The Onion. Not only is it funny, it’s actually satire. The “news” sites referenced in the OP are neither. > > Where is the satire in reporting, in apparently full seriousness, that Screech murdered someone? The satire must be too subtle for my feeble mind. Yes, this exactly. I get Onion level satire, but the news sites dominating Snopes these days are not funny or thought provoking or proving a point. They are just trying to get people to believe lies. I can’t seem to find a link, but I do recall one such site with a disclaimer that said something to the effect of “it is up to the reader to second source everything they read” ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/9 "2015-01-08T16:41:25Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I think there is a big difference between > > [Dustin Diamond Charged With Murder](http://www.donotlink.com/framed?609793) > > and: > > [it sadly unclear whether this article will put lives at risk](http://www.theonion.com/articles/it-sadly-unclear-whether-this-article-will-put,37715/http://) For the record, my work site let me see the first article just fine. It blocked the Onion article saying that it is a humor site. So my work firewall can tell the difference between not funny and funny. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/10 "2015-01-08T17:28:48Z")
It’s basic clickspam. They spend nothing on research or basic journalism, make up a sensational headline, sell ads based on page views and collect the checks from their high traffic site. It’s an eyeball farm. They only call it “satire” to justify their phishing scheme to their victims. The Onion strives as far as I can tell to be a humorous, entertaining publication. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean others aren’t getting real enjoyment from it. The same applies (though they were certainly less talented) to the late Weekly World News. Say what you like about them, but people paid money for Bat Boy t-shirts and generally seemed to find WWN worthwhile. I would venture to guess that no one seeks out Empire News on their own. They dangle their bait on Facebook, wait for clueless people to get snagged, and collect the ad revenue. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/11 "2015-01-08T17:34:21Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > The Onion publishes a handful of funny stories, but a lot of them are realistic looking stories that aren’t the tiniest bit funny, other than allowing people to smugly mock people who believed them. But the smug people don’t seem to understand that it’s not unreasonable to think a well written, serious looking article could be factual. It’s not uncommon to see stories that look a lot [like this](http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-couple-closet-daytona-state-college-20141231-story.html)in the Onion. Requires citation. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/12 "2015-01-08T17:51:20Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Yep. I’ve read The Onion. Not only is it funny, it’s actually satire. The “news” sites referenced in the OP are neither. > > Where is the satire in reporting, in apparently full seriousness, that Screech murdered someone? The satire must be too subtle for my feeble mind. So it’s not a satire site because it fails on your level of funny and satire? I don’t think Jimmy Fallon is the least bit funny, but he IS known to be a comedian (i’ve heard.) ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/13 "2015-01-08T18:27:00Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > So it’s not a satire site because it fails on your level of funny and satire? I don’t think Jimmy Fallon is the least bit funny, but he IS known to be a comedian (i’ve heard.) There’s a difference between a joke being unfunny and a joke being nonexistent. Reread that Screech one and tell me where the joke is. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/14 "2015-01-08T19:05:37Z")
The Snopes website seems to have gone downhill from years past. Nowdays it looks as if no Weekly World News type blurb is too idiotic for comment. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/15 "2015-01-08T19:22:38Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > So it’s not a satire site because it fails on your level of funny and satire? I don’t think Jimmy Fallon is the least bit funny, but he IS known to be a comedian (i’ve heard.) No, it’s not a satire site, because there’s nothing satirical about what they’re saying. It’s one thing to publish articles that lampoon or otherwise skewer common news articles and common topics. For example, the famous Onion “poll” wherein rural Americans were found to prefer Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to President Obama. But reporting that Dustin Diamond is a murderer, instead of merely being charged with a violent crime is… well… not satirical, funny or anything else other than wildly inaccurate. ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/16 "2015-01-08T19:24:05Z")
I hate those bad ‘satire’ sites as much as most people, but the tone of most of their articles usually feels less than serious to me. Not funny or insightful or purposeful in any way, but there’s usually some silly detail(s) within them. This, for example, would have no place in a serious article: > [@](#): > > “He told Screech he wanted to give him a wedgie and stuff him in a locker. Screech didn’t like that very much, and that’s when the tussle began” Peters said. “It was just like that episode where Screech got mad at Zack for stealing Lisa away from him, only this time, Screech stabbed the guy. It was awesome. I was half expecting Mr. Belding to come rushing out to break it up and yell ‘hey, hey, hey! What is going on here?!’” Problem is they bury the silly stuff so deep into the article that most people have already looked away by then. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/17 "2015-01-10T02:42:01Z")
There’s a very good long-running one here in Thailand that spoofs _The Nation_, the lesser of Bangkok’s two English-language dailies. It’s called [Not the Nation](http://notthenation.com/). Much effort has been expended trying to figure out who exactly is behind it. Obviously someone familiar with the inner workings of _The Nation_, but whoever it is remains a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/18 "2015-01-10T21:50:58Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > The Snopes website seems to have gone downhill from years past. Nowdays it looks as if no Weekly World News type blurb is too idiotic for comment. I’m still trying to figure out why they felt [their rant about GEICO coverage](http://www.snopes.com/info/news/nogeico.asp) was uploaded to the site. It has nothing to do with urban legends. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/19 "2015-01-11T21:02:58Z")
The Onion gains a significant proportion of its revenue from subscribers. People who knowingly pay to get unlimited access to their articles. They aren’t just a trap for the unwary. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-target-audience-for-fake-news-sites/709314/20 "2015-01-12T18:07:43Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > I’m still trying to figure out why they felt [their rant about GEICO coverage](http://www.snopes.com/info/news/nogeico.asp) was uploaded to the site. It has nothing to do with urban legends. I noticed that as well. Anger turned the site into a personal blog for a moment there."