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Does satirical news bear some responsibility for the current "fake news!" phenomenon?

Asked by funkdaddy (17777points) September 22nd, 2017

Have sites like The Onion and shows like Colbert Report made people more likely to believe that news organizations or “the media” as a whole are more likely to be fake?

Or, another way, have those satirical outlets made it easier for viewers to believe news that is actually fake because it seems to be more reasonable than what you’ll see in a satirical outlet?

Question prompted by a discussion with a woman who said she doesn’t believe news stories anymore after being fooled by some shared on facebook by “people (who) think they’re so smart”. So basically Onion-like stories made at least one individual decide it’s safer to just not believe in news at all. That’s her revenge basically.

How widespread is this do you think? How would you correct that, if possible?

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