Fake Onion Tweets Send Scare Through Washington
The team at The Onion is known for using satire to get their message across and today they had a rare hiccup in their humor when they tweeted a bunch of messages about the capitol being under attack.
In their Tweets the agency said:
“Congresss takes group of Schoolchildren Hostage”
Followed by:
“BREAKING: Capital Building being evacuated. 12 Children held hostage by group of armed congressmen
The group then continued their tweets about doing schoolchildren harm by tweeting:
“BREAKING: Witnesses reporting screams and gunfire heard inside Capitol building
After a series of other tweets reactions on the internet were mostly negative including one message that read “I mean, I know you guys do satire, but I really don’t get this one…”
In their own statement the New York office for The Onion stood their ground, releasing a statement in which they said “This is satire, That’s how it works.”
The United States Capitol Police also released a statement:
From: Schneider, Kimberly A.
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 11:01 AM
Subject: USCP Notice: False Reporting via TwitterIt has come to our attention that recents twitter feeds are reporting false information concerning current conditions at the U.S. Capitol. Conditions at the U.S. Capitol are currently normal. There is no credibility to these stories or the twitter feeds. The U.S. Capitol Police are currently investigating the reporting.
Investigating the reporting? Another wonderful use of taxpayer dollars at work.
Do you think The Onion went to far by including schoolchildren being held hostage as part of their satire?
