The Onion has countless imitators but no real challengers in the funny fake news biz. Its secret: it's actually funny. For example: Pornography-Desensitized Populace Demands New Orifice To Look At. Anyone can take a promising comic premise and beat it to death with witless, hamfisted, predictable gags, and the internet is full of "humor" sites that do just that. The Onion piece is sly, insightful and brilliant, and still made me laugh out loud on third reading.
The Onion has countless imitators but no real challengers in the funny fake news biz. Its secret: it's actually funny. For example: