Given that he is a reporter, it would be helpful if he reported

From the Babylon Bee. The new paper of record.

Democrats Call For Flags To Be Flown At Half-Mast To Grieve Death Of Soleimani https://t.co/MR0FIaFKsv

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) January 3, 2020

And CNN reporter has a po-faced response.

To put this in perspective, this is the same number of engagements the top NY Times and CNN stories on Facebook had over the past week.

A lot of people sharing this "satirical" story on Facebook don't know it is satire. https://t.co/HnDjuqw2si

— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) January 5, 2020

Given that he is a reporter, it would be helpful if he reported just what percentage of "people sharing this 'satirical' story on Facebook don't know it is satire." It seems like an empty claim intended to discount the humor. And obviously insulting - presuming that people cannot distinguish satire from factual reporting.

Which is the ultimate compliment to the attuned ear of the Babylon Bee humorists. They know how to write absurd headlines which so closely mimic the headlines of the MSM that, without context, they could be easily mistaken as genuine MSM headlines. But their very absurdity is part of the tell.

Stipulating that there is always a Lizardman Constant of 4%, and stipulating that another 5% of readers may see the BB headline out of context, I am guessing that less than 10% of readers miss that the BB article is satire.

Is that sufficient to claim, without evidence, that "a lot of people sharing this 'satirical' story on Facebook don't know it is satire"?

Probably not. Donnie O'Sullivan, by pretending to believe people are fooled by satire, debases himself and MSM even further.

O'Sullivan is clearly signaling that people who mock the establishment media should be at least shunned if not suppressed.

When mockery of the establishment gets more clicks than the Pravda/Tass look-alikes of the MSM, that is actually a pretty good leading-indicator of a healthy republic.

The establishment news and media are having hard days. I never watch the self-pleasuring excesses of Globe, Emmy, and Oscar events. But I am seeing this morning a wonderful honest roasting of the self-regarding Hollywood establishment by Ricky Gervais last night at the Globe ceremony.


Double click to enlarge.

OK. That was pretty funny. To an outsider. Can't imagine what it must have felt like being there.