Don't mess with a satirist with a pen at the ready...
May 6, 2013 9:41 PM   Subscribe

The Onion's Twitter feed was apparently hacked by Syrian Electronic Army, the group that recently hacked the White House Twitter account and sent the stock market on a short-lived dive. The Onion has responded to the hack, darkly.
posted by zardoz (59 comments total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
This just in: in related news, Onion Twitter Password Changed To OnionMan77.
posted by zardoz at 9:44 PM on May 6, 2013 [12 favorites]


I saw this earlier today. I don't regularly read The Onion, so it was a little shocking to click around their site and see the sheer volume of pro-intervention war mongering re: Syria. That puts them on the same side as Lindsey Graham, for those keeping score at home.
posted by indubitable at 9:48 PM on May 6, 2013 [3 favorites]


It's pretty interesting to see this in the wake of The Onion's recent seemingly pro-interventionist coverage, discussed here. Previously.
posted by Apocryphon at 9:48 PM on May 6, 2013 [2 favorites]


Hands up, who just tried logging into their Twitter?!


raises hand.
posted by alex_skazat at 9:50 PM on May 6, 2013 [2 favorites]


So this sort of thing is the result of the staff mass exodus, I guess?
posted by feloniousmonk at 9:52 PM on May 6, 2013


I enjoy when we're so far through the looking glass that The Onion's political motives are being seriously analyzed and apparently attacked.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 9:57 PM on May 6, 2013 [45 favorites]


That was actually not funny at all.
posted by empath at 9:57 PM on May 6, 2013 [7 favorites]


Perhaps because:

1. I'm old
2. It's late
3. well, wine

I have no idea if something on The Onion, like this, is satire, real, news, humor....

I'm blaming the confusion of humor, activism, and news on Jon Stewart.
posted by HuronBob at 9:59 PM on May 6, 2013 [2 favorites]


I enjoy when we're so far through the looking glass that The Onion's political motives are being seriously analyzed and apparently attacked.

Well, we are living on an internet where that Chechen figurehead president commented on the Boston bombings via Instagram, after all.
posted by Apocryphon at 9:59 PM on May 6, 2013 [4 favorites]


US Military Divorcing Afghanistan For Hotter, Sexier War
Syria To Host Iraq War Reenactors

I don't agree with the TNI piece, that The Onion represents the "elite" view towards Syria. Rather, I think they are simply being reactionary - the Administration doesn't support involvement, so The Onion talks up how bad it is. If it looked like we were going in, they would flip.
Like so.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:09 PM on May 6, 2013 [7 favorites]


It's pretty interesting to see this in the wake of The Onion's recent seemingly pro-interventionist coverage

It's a satirical publication. The examples the NI gives are more filled with rage at the human tragedy unfolding in Syria, and your president's inability to do anything about it, than a call for intervention. All the lies about "never again" etc etc.

It's a far cry from a clearly articulated argument for unilateral intervention on the part of the US.

Or what Ghostride said.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:18 PM on May 6, 2013 [2 favorites]


The Syrian Electronic Army hacked my Facebook account.


And got way more 'likes' then I ever do. :(
posted by mazola at 10:40 PM on May 6, 2013 [1 favorite]


I feel like I'm living in the future and I'm not ready for it. I'm going to go watch Mr. Ed and Green Acres before I have an anxiety attack.
posted by Brocktoon at 11:18 PM on May 6, 2013 [8 favorites]


The Onion can be pretty brutal even to people that haven't directly attacked them. I'm not surprised that their response is an ugly, "HAHA We'll dance on your grave."
posted by straight at 11:21 PM on May 6, 2013 [1 favorite]


It was pretty dark, but the story Bwitth posted is much better and tweaks the Onion itself, e.g.

Remember that, worst comes to worst, it’s just a tweet, and it’s not like anyone’s ever had to apologize for a tweet before.
posted by dhartung at 11:57 PM on May 6, 2013


I enjoy when we're so far through the looking glass that The Onion's political motives are being seriously analyzed and apparently attacked.

By foreign political militias no less. The irony of these pro-Assad stooges taking the effort to spoof The Onion outshines any attempt by The Onion to respond. This called for a Tina Fey/Sarah Palin spoof of just printing the raw facts.

But they blew themselves up instead.
posted by three blind mice at 12:21 AM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


The Onion has responded to the hack, darkly.

Never seen them openly wish death on people, before. Interesting line to cross for satirists who are usually above it all.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:36 AM on May 7, 2013 [3 favorites]


The column about all the ads on the site sure is on the money.
posted by painquale at 12:47 AM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


It's pretty interesting to see this in the wake of The Onion's recent seemingly pro-interventionist coverage, discussed here. Previously.

That was bizarre, wasn't it? I remember clicking that link thinking the article would be a satire of Obama the warmonger being eager to have his own Iraq, but somehow it ends up being some weird neo-liberal "Invisible Children" type shit.

Like the Daily Show and a lot of other left-leaning satirists, they've ended up shying away from certain targets that a little too close too home, world-view-wise- I feel like they've barely gone after Obama for all his very obvious foibles, and the coverage of Steve Jobs' death was incredibly reverent.
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:15 AM on May 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


I waited for the article about which Foxconn employees would have the honor of being interred with Jobs, but it never came.
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:17 AM on May 7, 2013 [7 favorites]


Ordinarily Above-it-all Urbanites Surprised To Find Selves Offended By Freakin' Onion Article, Fer Chrissakes.
posted by ShutterBun at 1:31 AM on May 7, 2013 [8 favorites]


Come to think of it, The Onion was previously against American intervention in Syria, even when it came to finding alleged chemical weapons..
posted by Apocryphon at 1:37 AM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


the group that recently hacked the White House Twitter account and sent the stock market on a short-lived dive.

That was a hack of the AP twitter account.
posted by Drinky Die at 1:41 AM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


I love it when The Onion goes dark
posted by Greener Backyards at 2:29 AM on May 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


Between the Onion’s NYC office closing, and the Quvenzhane Wallis thing, morale at the Onion wasn’t very good to begin with. They’ve been going dark a lot lately.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 3:50 AM on May 7, 2013


hee hee, you may have hacked our comedy website but you are going to be killed for sticking with what you see as your country

pwnz0rd
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 3:57 AM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


> I waited for the article about which Foxconn employees would have the honor of being interred with Jobs, but it never came.

Their best pieces have always been the ones you weren't expecting.
posted by ardgedee at 5:03 AM on May 7, 2013


Never seen them openly wish death on people, before. Interesting line to cross for satirists who are usually above it all.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:36 AM


I didn't think they were wishing death on the them, but pointing out the ridiculousness of hacking a humor website's twitter account while they are facing death.
posted by orme at 5:16 AM on May 7, 2013 [11 favorites]


Satire is a double-edged sword.
posted by tommasz at 5:25 AM on May 7, 2013


When the AP's Twitter feed was hacked a couple weeks ago, we at the @FakeAPStylebook pretended to get hacked as well, and did some usual tomfoolery. The next day some group called #UGBrazil claimed credit for hacking our account.

It's a weird, brave new world out there.
posted by Legomancer at 5:44 AM on May 7, 2013 [7 favorites]


I do feel for the Onion. When reality has headlines like "Ricin found in dojo of man charged with attempting to frame Elvis impersonator" how can you write satire?
posted by Ella Fynoe at 5:49 AM on May 7, 2013 [19 favorites]


Seems them crackers left a bad taste in The Onion's mouth.
posted by nowhere man at 6:04 AM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


Having no idea how to deal with all this, I think I'll just bake a cake in the shape of a Syrian flag.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:27 AM on May 7, 2013 [3 favorites]


...I have some nice candles...
posted by clavdivs at 6:55 AM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


From "The Onion’s Tips On How To Prevent Your Major Media Site From Being Hacked":

If your Twitter account is hacked, don’t be afraid to contact Twitter with your concerns. Their world-class tech team will respond in a fastidious manner to get your account up and running again within seconds.

Burn.
posted by murphy slaw at 7:14 AM on May 7, 2013 [4 favorites]


I think I'll just bake a cake in the shape of a Syrian flag

Isn't the symbol at the center of the flag the symbol of the Star Wars Republic/rebels?

And how does one Authenticate that these are the Syrian Electronic Army? With passwords?
posted by rough ashlar at 7:33 AM on May 7, 2013


I think The Onion should offer whoever wrote those Tweets a job immediately.
posted by spock at 7:53 AM on May 7, 2013


I saw this earlier today. I don't regularly read The Onion, so it was a little shocking to click around their site and see the sheer volume of pro-intervention war mongering re: Syria. That puts them on the same side as Lindsey Graham, for those keeping score at home.

It also puts them on the same side as a whole bunch of liberal Syrians, and other Arabs that I know. Pro-intervention in Syria isn't an issue you can just say is Republican-only and dismiss out of hand.
posted by SollosQ at 3:56 PM on May 7, 2013 [3 favorites]


The Onion strikes back?

Breaking news: Traffic from Syria Disappears from Internet
posted by Drinky Die at 4:42 PM on May 7, 2013


This was real? I assumed the whole thing was fake.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 7:04 PM on May 7, 2013


Remember that, worst comes to worst, it’s just a tweet, and it’s not like anyone’s ever had to apologize for a tweet before.

They shouldn't have apologized for that, since it was perfect satire of the way the rest of the actresses at the Oscars were treated.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 7:07 PM on May 7, 2013


I actually tend to agree, Charlemagne, but probably 99% of the people who heard about the tweet or saw it RT'ed in their feeds did not have the proper context of what the Onion is satirizing.
posted by dhartung at 12:37 AM on May 8, 2013 [1 favorite]


I don't really understand people who think it's brilliant humor to just say the most offensive thing that comes to mind and then try and justify it by calling it satire/irony. Regardless of the context, you just come off as an asshole when you call a little girl the c-word. Satire is better when it is less blunt and less hurtful to a vulnerable target.
posted by Drinky Die at 4:12 AM on May 8, 2013


Except it wasn't satirizing her. It was satirizing the attitudes of the media.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 4:25 AM on May 8, 2013


It wuz satire is a lame defense, yes, when you're just trying to be offensive. But genuine satire is a way of pointing out how something that exists is itself offensive, in this case, media and cultural tropes about actresses. (It's also possible it was elliptically commenting on McFarlane's somewhat problematic hosting of the event itself, although I've forgotten the timing.) The whole point is that she isn't, she's an innocent nine-year-old, and that there's a massive amount of anti-feminist backbiting and slut-shaming and ingrained misogynism that surrounds this event, which often seems less interested in the professional accomplishments of women than it is in what male fashion designer's clothes they are wearing.

I mean, I can understand if you feel it's wrong to rope a kid into that to make your point -- I'm pretty uncomfortable with it myself -- but if you can't even see that point I'm sorry for you.
posted by dhartung at 4:59 AM on May 8, 2013 [1 favorite]


Except it wasn't satirizing her. It was satirizing the attitudes of the media.

Jon Stewart satirizes the media without calling nine year olds the c-word every night. It's not an excuse.
posted by Drinky Die at 5:30 AM on May 8, 2013


I am not missing that The Onion attempted to make a point. Micheal Richards had a point to make about hecklers when he screamed racial slurs at his audience too, it was just that it was a point expressed in the most idiotic and offensive possible way. You can't be expected to be taken seriously as a satirist when that is all you can bring to the table. He and The Onion have cultivated a reputation for being above that over the years which is why their respective outbursts were so shocking.
posted by Drinky Die at 5:44 AM on May 8, 2013


The Onion's tech team wrote up how the SEA hacked them. Nothing technically interesting, just your standard phishing.

They also linked to the SEA's website, which honestly looks like just another small startup's website.
posted by dragoon at 2:13 PM on May 8, 2013


It's impressive how intent they were on gaining access, though. Why choose such a soft, unserious target for their operations?
posted by Apocryphon at 4:35 PM on May 8, 2013


Drinky Die, your first statement was "I don't really understand people who think it's brilliant humor to just say the most offensive thing that comes to mind and then try and justify it by calling it satire/irony." That wording suggests that you did not consider it a point or satire, only something said in order to be offensive ("the most offensive thing that comes to mind") and only later "called" satire as a CYA. If you wish to amend your assertion I can understand that, but I was responding to what you posted, not what you were thinking when you posted it.
posted by dhartung at 5:33 PM on May 8, 2013 [1 favorite]


To clarify, I think it was chiefly an attempt at shock humor with the satirical content being secondary at best.
posted by Drinky Die at 5:41 PM on May 8, 2013



To clarify, I think it was chiefly an attempt at shock humor with the satirical content being secondary at best.


Yes, because the Onion has never published satire before, and it's not like they've built a huge brand out of publishing several pieces of satire daily for more than 10 years. It makes total sense that they'd abandon that to dip into shock humor, not that the easily offended can't distinguish between a satire on an attitude and that attitude itself. They had to be ugly because the media is ugly.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 10:53 PM on May 8, 2013


They publish articles with various levels of satire, absurdity, offensiveness. This one was way out of balance towards the shock value in my view. It does not take being a particularly delicate flower to be offended by calling a little girl the c-word and there was absolutely no need for them to do so to make their point.
posted by Drinky Die at 11:04 PM on May 8, 2013


They publish articles with various levels of satire, absurdity, offensiveness. This one was way out of balance towards the shock value in my view. It does not take being a particularly delicate flower to be offended by calling a little girl the c-word and there was absolutely no need for them to do so to make their point.

The context was the wall to wall social media coverage of the event, and that fit into that. Perhaps I'm a bit immune, since the c-word isn't quite as offensive where I now am. But still, there was a moment of shock, and then a laugh. And even if it went past your personal filters, there's no reason to pillory the site. Apparently there's similar controversy over a Chris Brown article now.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 11:08 PM on May 8, 2013


Yes, the word is vastly more offensive in the US where The Onion and The Oscars are based and where the little girl in question lives. Even The Onion itself said the tweet was only "masquerading" as satire. There is simply no defense for this one, but agreeing that they made a mistake and that an apology was justified does not constitute a pillory.
posted by Drinky Die at 11:13 PM on May 8, 2013


For the record, I'm satisfied with your position here, and don't see further debate as productive. The person responsible already lost their job and the apology has been issued.
posted by dhartung at 1:03 AM on May 9, 2013


From the Onion tech staff: How the Syrian Electronic Army Hacked The Onion. "In summary, they phished Onion employees’ Google Apps accounts via 3 seperate methods."
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:32 AM on May 9, 2013




the Bugle podcast had a good gag about the SEA this week
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 12:20 AM on May 10, 2013


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