Satire aims to ridicule absurdity rather than to deceive viewers

Evidence

In a recent op-ed in the Los Angeles Times entitled “The Left Has a Post-Truth Problem Too: It’s Called Comedy,” Stephen Marche argued that “the post-truth condition, in which Trumpism has flourished, has its roots in left-wing satire. … In 2009, a Time magazine poll declared [Jon] Stewart the most trusted news anchor on the air.” But I would argue that this is not a fair interpretation. Satire is a long-standing foil to the lies and bullshit that politicians try to get us to accept as truth. It is not intended to be taken for the real thing. That is in part its point. By making fun of reality, satire intends to highlight the absurdity in real life. If one accepted satire as real, the point would be lost. The intention of satire is not to deceive, but to ridicule. — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 154

Categorization

• DEFINE: Draws the working distinction between satire and fake news — satirists expose journalism’s pretenses while fake news exploits them.
• XREF: connects to: Parody performances are routinely mistaken for sincere commitment to what they mock; Racist satire consumed at face value reproduces the very racism it critiques — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The…, 1113; Magnifying stereotypes comically undermines their power and absurdity — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race…, 1398

Broader Connections

• Parody performances are routinely mistaken for sincere commitment to what they mock #qualifies (0.85)
• Racist satire consumed at face value reproduces the very racism it critiques #qualifies (0.80) — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 1113
• Magnifying stereotypes comically undermines their power and absurdity #contradicts (0.75) — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 1398