OK, so technically speaking, there’s no law that satire has to be funny. At least no official law.
That said, if you’re gonna market yourself as a satirical outlet, you should probably at least make an effort to be mildly humorous. We’re looking at you, The Onion. You guys were on a roll there for a while and had a good run, but for the past decade or so, you’ve really struggled to not be completely lame and flat-out lazy.
Here are some recent offenses:
- The Onion posts a scathing ‘exclusive interview’ with transphobe J.K. Rowling
- Clown nose off? The Onion asks politicians why they oppose ‘life-saving’ gender-affirming treatments
- The Onion continues its decline with lame joke about Goofy murdering DeSantis
It’s not the fact that The Onion is mocking stuff we believe in that we find offensive. Because we’re not humorless scolds who are totally incapable of laughing at ourselves. No, what’s offensive is how reliably unfunny The Onion has become. That’s what bugs us.
And unfortunately, The Onion has thus far given any indication that they’re interested in recapturing even a little bit of their former glory. Which brings us to this offering from them today:
Conservatives Claim Hitler’s Nazi Allegiance Greatly Exaggerated https://t.co/rw6Lvz2UxY pic.twitter.com/5CVwJlw1wl
— The Onion (@TheOnion) May 18, 2023
To be fair, sometimes the tweet really doesn’t do the article justice. So let’s see what the article brings to the table … OK, we looked. The article is just even cringier.
"LOL?" https://t.co/8h0kSH9rJ4
— Nathan Wurtzel (@NathanWurtzel) May 18, 2023
Such cutting edge comedy!!
You're really pushing the envelope, you guys! https://t.co/lgDFwJ1OGg
— RBe (@RBPundit) May 18, 2023
Like, we get what The Onion was going for: “Conservatives are Nazis LOL.” But what they actually produced is just so aggressively, painfully stale and outright anti-humor. It’s like a crime against comedy. The Onion should thank their lucky stars that there isn’t a law that would punish them for bad satire. Nazi comparisons are a dime a dozen. Like a daily occurrence. Give us something new. Where’s that creativity we’re always hearing so much about?
Is this a rough draft that got released by mistake?
— Daniel (@AboutDmnTime) May 18, 2023
Oh, it’s definitely rough. But it’s no rough draft. This was literally the best they could do.
The Onion is essentially the print version of SNL.
— Super Journalist (Ret) – JOURN-L of Skrypton (@Magnum_CK) May 18, 2023
That’s not a compliment, by the way.
Yikes. Thank god the Babylon Bee is still funny.
You do understand that jokes need a modicum of reality to be funny, right?
— Genghis Jon (@Jon_Genghis) May 18, 2023
It’s been wild to watch The Onion slowly rot. Doesn’t seem to be even a single funny person left on staff. Very sad.
— Storm (@stormrobinson) May 18, 2023
Let’s just say we won’t shed any tears over this Onion when it ultimately turns into fertilizer.
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