GOP Rep Believed Onion’s “Abortionplex” Story, Decried it on Facebook Page

Hey, reader. Have you ever heard of The Onion News Network? Here’s a quick summary: it’s a satirical news conglomerate. While I’m reluctant to say that nothing they say is true, I will say that their stories are 100% fictional. Thanks to their poker-face reporting, many have been reeled in and outraged over their fabricated antics, and ONN‘s latest victim is a humble and naive Louisiana Congressman.

Not too long ago, Louisiana Representative John Fleming posted a link to an Onion story on his Facebook page, adding: “More on Planned Parenthood, abortion by the wholesale,” underneath it. The article in question revolved around “The Abortionplex” which is more or less exactly what it sounds like (in case you still don’t quite get it, here’s a free laugh on me).

A screencap of Fleming’s faux pas was picked up by Literally Unbelievable, a website that makes fun of people who take The Onion seriously.

Since the fallout, Fleming’s page still hosts a hefty amount of anti-Planned Parenthood posts, but the one in question has been quietly removed (though it has inherited eternal life thanks to the folks at Literally Unbelievable). If you need a quick refresher on who Fleming is, he’s the guy who complained about his income last September, hemming-and-hawing at the financial stretches he has to make scraping by on $600,000 a year. This complaint led comedian Jon Stewart to help him devise a budget plan to help the congressman stem food costs. No word on whether or not Fleming took Stewart’s advice to heart or whether he’s making any traction on understanding the nature of satire.

What do you think of The Onion? Are they really that believable?