China’s Paper Of Record Thinks The Onion Is Real News

China’s People’s Daily thinks this Onion article naming Kim Jong Un the “sexiest man alive” is the real thing:

 U.S. website The Onion has named North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un as the “Sexiest Man Alive for the year 2012”.

“With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman’s dream come true. Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper’s editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile,” it said.

“He has that rare ability to somehow be completely adorable and completely macho at the same time,” said Marissa Blake-Zweiber, editor of The Onion Style and Entertainment.

One wonders if there is a word for “satire” in Chinese.

H/T: Shanghaiist

FILED UNDER: Entertainment, Media,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. john personna says:

    Their title is: “North Korea’s top leader named The Onion’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2012”

    I think they get it.

  2. john personna says:

    (Note also that they are writing for an English language audience there.)

  3. Dave Schuler says:

    It’s an understandable mistake. Have you read the real news lately?

  4. Rob Prather says:

    This isn’t the first time this has happened. About a decade ago, The Onion wrote an article saying the Congress was threatening to relocate if DC didn’t provide them with a Capitol building with a retractable dome. China’s news agaency treated it as real and, when they found out the truth, couldn’t believe that a whole newspaper printed nothing but lies.

  5. Tony W says:

    @Rob Prather:

    couldn’t believe that a whole newspaper printed nothing but lies.

    Or a TV News Network either

  6. grumpy realist says:

    Well, considering that Al Qaeda was getting their nuclear science from the Journal of Irreproducible results….

  7. Dave Schuler says:

    One wonders if there is a word for “satire” in Chinese.

    Sure. Fěng cì. Satire goes back as far in China as it does in the West. My experience has been that the Chinese are very funny, very humorous people.