Satire and parody

What is the difference between fake news and satire? The use of satire and parody in communication uses humor to critique or draw attention to an issue. These forms of playful communication are not aggressive but can be construed as such and are able to express ideas and make sense of notions that are not available in traditional outlets due to professionalism and political correctness. Opposed to fake news which is mostly used for propaganda, satire is most often used as a social commentary. However, because they are essentially sarcastic, satire and parody are often misunderstood. (Watch this short video from C-SPANN for an example.) Often news parody is broken up into 'hard news' and 'soft news'. Satire can also be broken up into different subcategories such as, parody, inflammation, caricature, diminution and a single example of satire can contain a variety of those subcategories.

Examples of Satirical Sources:

The Onion

The Colbert Report

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

A Modest Proposal - Jonathan Swift

Supplemental Readings

A TV Comedy Turns an Unconventional Weapon on Iraq’s High and Mighty: Fake News. (n.d.). Retrieved May 29, 2018, from https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20061025wednesday.html

Rich, F. (2004, July 18). Happy Talk News Covers a War. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/18/movies/happy-talk-news-covers-a-war.html