Faking News
Encyclopedia
Faking News is an Indian news satire
website that publishes fake news reports containing satire on politics and society of India
. The website also publishes occasional serious articles related to television journalism
in India. The website was launched on September 15, 2008.
The website is daily in shape of a blog
written by a blogger with pseudonym
“Pagal Patrakar”, a Hindi term that literally translates to ‘crazy journalist’ in English
. Initially writing anonymously, the blogger was later identified as a Delhi
based management consultant Rahul Roushan.
Faking News is one of the few websites or blogs in India using the tools of sarcasm
and humor to publish news satire, as is widely done in the western countries, a trend pioneered by The Onion
of USA. According to the latest Alexa
rankings, Faking News lies second, although a distant second, to The Onion among all the news satire websites in English.
Two of the fake news reports by Faking News, "Unable to attract even a single girl, frustrated man sues Axe" and "Men talking loud on mobile during movies have smaller penises", were mistaken as being genuine and factual news reports by an Indian website Indiainfo.com on October 21, 2009 and were republished on their website. Subsequently, the Axe story was republished by many other websites and blogs in countries other than India, mistaking it to be a true story, latest being by The Times of India
on May 27, 2011 and on September 25, 2011 making it an urban legend
. Another Faking News report titled "Unable to figure out Google Wave, youngster kills himself" was mistaken as being true by an Indian website OneIndia.com on November 10, 2009.
News satire
thumb|right|220px|[[The Daily Show with Jon Stewart]] is a news satire program.News satire, also called fake news , is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called a satire because of its content...
website that publishes fake news reports containing satire on politics and society of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The website also publishes occasional serious articles related to television journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
in India. The website was launched on September 15, 2008.
The website is daily in shape of a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
written by a blogger with pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
“Pagal Patrakar”, a Hindi term that literally translates to ‘crazy journalist’ in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Initially writing anonymously, the blogger was later identified as a Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
based management consultant Rahul Roushan.
Faking News is one of the few websites or blogs in India using the tools of sarcasm
Sarcasm
Sarcasm is “a sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt.” Though irony and understatement is usually the immediate context, most authorities distinguish sarcasm from irony; however, others argue that sarcasm may or often does involve irony or employs...
and humor to publish news satire, as is widely done in the western countries, a trend pioneered by The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
of USA. According to the latest Alexa
Alexa Internet
Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and Web site. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the Web site where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's Web traffic...
rankings, Faking News lies second, although a distant second, to The Onion among all the news satire websites in English.
Two of the fake news reports by Faking News, "Unable to attract even a single girl, frustrated man sues Axe" and "Men talking loud on mobile during movies have smaller penises", were mistaken as being genuine and factual news reports by an Indian website Indiainfo.com on October 21, 2009 and were republished on their website. Subsequently, the Axe story was republished by many other websites and blogs in countries other than India, mistaking it to be a true story, latest being by The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
on May 27, 2011 and on September 25, 2011 making it an urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
. Another Faking News report titled "Unable to figure out Google Wave, youngster kills himself" was mistaken as being true by an Indian website OneIndia.com on November 10, 2009.