believe

Even though satirical news has been around for decades, people still have a really hard time parsing out fact from fiction. Sometimes they'll write-off a absurdly funny headline as fake news. Other times they'll react with appropriate shock after reading a "report" that the gates of hell have been opened. It's funny, but also kinda really disappointing when sadly mistaken people don't understand satire.

Whether it's being so upset that they lose their capacity for rationality, actually wanting to believe a joke headline, or just poor reading comprehension, there is an embarrassing number of sorely mistaken people not getting satire out there. Sometimes someone will read an obvious joke and think that they're doing everyone a favor by calling it fake news. It's half funny and half disappointing. We've got people believing in time travel, wrestler cruelty, and everything else.

With the proper context, satire news websites are incredibly enjoyable sources of entertainment. But if you aren't inclined to get the joke, or just have no idea that what you're reading is supposed to be a joke, you can look pretty damn stupid. There are too many instances of times people didn't understand satire.