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You’ve probably seen one of these accounts before.
A headline pops up on your feed that sounds believable enough to make you stop scrolling. Some celebrity supposedly did something insane. A politician apparently said something even more insane. A random city has banned something for an incredibly specific reason.
You read it again.
Then you look at the account.
Oh.
It’s a parody account.
And yet, somehow, the comments are already arguing about it.
The Internet’s Most Gullible Citizens
People will believe just about anything if it shows up on their phone looking official enough. I once convinced half of my Instagram that I’d spent a weekend in New York when I was literally just posting pictures of Richmond. People were asking me about my trip days later. Nobody questioned a thing.
Now imagine what happens when an account with a fake news logo, a vaguely plausible headline, and 400,000 followers gets involved.
The best part is that these accounts don’t even need to be particularly convincing. Sometimes the joke is right there in the headline. Sometimes the account name is practically begging you to get it. And still, someone in the comments is writing a six-paragraph rant about the downfall of society. Honestly, the comments are often funnier than the posts themselves.
Some of the Wildest One’s I’ve Come Across
- “Bill Nye the Science Guy Caught Teaching Student How to Make Methamphetamine”
- “Donald Trump is Considering Nicki Minaj as the New Press Secretary, Replacing Katie Zacharia”
- “‘High-Rise Shitter’ Strikes Again: 41-Year Old Arrested After Pooping From Top of Australia’s Tallest Building”
- “Lana Del Rey, Husband Celebrate Anniversary at Gas Station Subway”
And You Thought The Headline Was Bad
At some point, you have to admire the efficiency of it all. A parody account can make up a ridiculous headline in 5 minutes, post it, and then sit back while everyone else does the work. Someone screenshots it. Someone else reposts it. Somebody’s dad sends it to the family group chat. Then 40 strangers are fighting in the comments.
The account doesn’t even have to convince everyone. It just needs one person to take the bait.
These accounts have figured out how to turn one stupid joke into a full blown news cycle without doing any of the actual reporting. No newsroom. No fact checking. No reporters. Just a Canva graphic and a dream.
Breaking news: it works.
