Chinese Paper Falls for Onion Spoof

About noted heartthrob Kim Jong-un.

The People's Daily ran a 55-page photo spread of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after he was declared The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive for 2012.

He is shown riding horses, holding children and greeting his troops.

The spread is accompanied by tongue-in-cheek quotes from The Onion about the "Pyongyang-born heart-throb".

"With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-born heart-throb is every woman's dream come true," the People's Daily quotes The Onion as saying.

"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."

This has happened before. In 2002, the Beijing Evening News, with a circulation of over 1.25 million people, fell for a spoof about the United States Capitol dome.

Beijing's most popular newspaper has unwittingly republished a bogus story about U.S. Congress threats to skip town for Memphis or Charlotte unless Washington builds them a new Capitol building with a retractable dome.

The source? America's celebrated spoof tabloid, the Onion.

The Beijing Evening News, which claims a circulation of 1.25 million, translated portions of the Onion's tall tale word-for-word in the international news page of its June 3 edition.

The reprinted version of the May 29 article, which parodies Congress as a major league baseball team, also copied the Onion's would-be blueprint for a new legislative home that resembles a ballpark.

"Don't get us wrong: We love the drafty old building," the Onion jestingly quoted House Speaker Dennis Hastert saying.

"But the hard reality is, it's no longer suitable for a world-class legislative branch. The sight lines are bad, there aren't enough concession stands or bathrooms, and the parking is miserable."

Heh.

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posted by rdbrewer at 06:41 PM

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