Did Breitbart's editor-in-chief Alexander Mason Marlow say the site will not release the names of the dead and wounded in the Santa Fe High School shooting in order not to give them what they want? No, that's not true: the "news" was invented by satirical outlet The Onion to make fun of Breitbart's pro-gun reporting in general.
The story originated from an article published on May 21, 2018 titled "'Breitbart' Refusing To Release Names Of Mass Shooting Victims In Order To Prevent Them From Getting Attention" (archived here) which opened:
LOS ANGELES--Far-right media outlet Breitbart News refused Monday to release the names of the 10 dead and 13 wounded in the Santa Fe High School mass shooting, saying that doing so would only give the victims exactly what they wanted. "We're not going to give these victims the satisfaction of seeing their names and photographs published--in fact, that would just be playing right into their hands," said editor-in-chief Alexander Mason Marlow, insisting that as a matter of journalistic principle, Breitbart News does not publish information on mass shooting victims as it simply serves to provide them with a platform to spread their vile beliefs.
Users on social media who only saw a summary like this on social media might conclude the news was real:
'Breitbart' Refusing To Release Names Of Mass Shooting Victims In Order To Prevent Them From Getting Attention
LOS ANGELES--Far-right media outlet Breitbart News refused Monday to release the names of the 10 dead and 13 wounded in the Santa Fe High School mass shooting, saying that doing so would only give the victims exactly what they wanted.
But The Onion is one of the oldest and best known satire websites on the internet. Their about page claims:
The Onion is the world's leading news publication, offering highly acclaimed, universally revered coverage of breaking national, international, and local news events. Rising from its humble beginnings as a print newspaper in 1756, The Onion now enjoys a daily readership of 4.3 trillion and has grown into the single most powerful and influential organization in human history.
In addition to maintaining a towering standard of excellence to which the rest of the industry aspires, The Onion supports more than 350,000 full- and part-time journalism jobs in its numerous news bureaus and manual labor camps stationed around the world, and members of its editorial board have served with distinction in an advisory capacity for such nations as China, Syria, Somalia, and the former Soviet Union. On top of its journalistic pursuits, The Onion also owns and operates the majority of the world's transoceanic shipping lanes, stands on the nation's leading edge on matters of deforestation and strip mining, and proudly conducts tests on millions of animals daily.
If you somehow find that hard to believe: you are right. Scroll down a bit futher on that page and you'll find this:
What if I want to sue The Onion?
Please do not do that. The First Amendment protects satire as a form of free speech and expression. The Onion uses invented names in all of its stories, except in cases where public figures are being satirized. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental. The Onion is not intended for readers under 18 years of age.
Articles from The Onion are frequently mistaken for real news by people on social media that only see the headline, short description and thumbnail image. Being one of the best known satire sites their articles also frequently get copied by "real" fake news sites that don't carry a satire disclaimer. Always Google before sharing something that sounds improbable!
We wrote about theonion.com before, here are our most recent articles that mention the site:
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