Recognising Satire Online

In short: Satire exaggerates, distorts and mocks in order to expose problems or simply to entertain. Online, however, it is often shared without context and then mistaken for real news.

In more detail: Satirical websites, channels and programmes often deliberately imitate the style of serious news. Anyone who sees only the headline or a screenshot therefore does not always get the joke.

In detail

• What satire aims to do: Satire sharpens real events or attitudes until they seem ridiculous, and in doing so makes people think or laugh.
• Deliberate resemblance: Many satirical outlets design articles like real news reports, with a headline, photo and quotes; the exaggeration lies in the content, not in the form.
• Clues on the site: A look at the legal notice, the “About us” page or a channel’s self-description often shows that it is explicitly satire.
• Too absurd to be true: If a report seems extremely over the top or fits a prejudice suspiciously well, it is worth taking a second look before believing or sharing it.
• Loss of context: As a screenshot or forwarded message, a satirical text loses its original site and with it the most important clue to the joke (kettenbriefe-und-falschmeldungen-im-messenger).
• Cross-checking: If no other media report a supposedly big story, it is probably not real, whether it is satire or a false report (clickbait-und-schlagzeilen-durchschauen).
• Satire is not disinformation: Satire generally wants to be seen through, while disinformation aims to deceive; it becomes a problem when content is deliberately disguised as “just satire” in order to spread falsehoods (desinformation-und-deepfakes-erkennen).
• Role in society: Satire has a long tradition and is regarded in democratic societies as an important form of freedom of expression and artistic freedom.
• Helping when sharing: If you pass on satire, you can briefly add that it is satire so that others understand the post correctly.