The Onion is generally known for their funny satire are now being accused of taking a joke too far. Thursday, the site tweeted a “breaking story” about a hostage situation in the Capitol building. The first tweet read:
“BREAKING: Witnesses reporting screams and gunfire heard inside Capitol building.”
The second tweet came swiftly afterward, stating:
“BREAKING: Capitol building being evacuated. 12 children held hostage by group of armed congressmen.”
According to The Huffington Post, both tweets were retweeted more than 100 times, and the satirical news site kept tweeting “developments,” like:
“Arlington gun shop confirms Rep. @EricCantor bought 6 semi-automatic handguns, 3 rifles [and] 600 clips of ammo last month #CongressHostage.”
–and this one:
“4pm deadline is in 15 minutes. Congress still has not received its $12 trillion #CongressHostage.”
The Onion also posted a fake news story about the “hostage” and shared it with their followers on Facebook.
Of course, nothing was going on in the building; Capitol Police stated to The Washington Post that conditions were completely normal. This led some people believe the site was hacked, but The Onion has not spoken on the “hostage” tweets and story at this time. However, as you read the tweets and article, it’s fairly easy to tell that the whole ordeal is fake. (The Onion’s article is satirizing Congress’ inability to work with President Obama).
This story has angered some and entertained others, but what do you think? Do you think The Onion went too far with their satire? Give us your opinions in the comments section below.
