Poe's Law: Difference between revisions

[[File:unholythree 690.png|thumb|350px|Pop quiz: is [[wikipedia:File:Unholy three.png|this flyer]] declaring polio vaccine, water treatment, and psychology to be communist plots to destroy America a real pamphlet, or a parody of fervent 1950s "Red scare" tactics? (Answer: {{spoiler|[[Nightmare Fuel|it's real!]]}})]]

 

 

 

[http://rationalwiki.com/wiki/Poe%27s_Law According to] the [[Trope Namer|trope namers]], [[RationalWiki]], Poe's Law was formulated by Nathan Poe, referring to the [[Flame War]]s on Christian forums where Creationism vs. Evolution was discussed: Many users posted parody comments, which were followed by both [[Internet Backdraft|angry replies]] and [[Misaimed Fandom|supportive ones]]. Poe phrased his law thusly: "Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is utterly impossible to parody a Creationist in such a way that someone won't mistake it for the genuine article."

* The infamous ''[[The Legend of Zelda (Franchise)|Zelda]]'' video ''[[The Light of Courage]]'' has an interesting case of something being both incorrectly mistaken for a parody and something fully serious at the same time. The animation behind the videos was purposefully kept bad as was the voice acting. However the dialog, grammatical errors, and storyline the videos were based on are all real and was done with the serious attempt to get them made into a movie. Aside from the few who know the story behind The Light of Courage, most people can't seem to figure out whether it's real or not. It was based on a horrible fanfic that its creator took completely seriously, then someone else created the parody by adding purposefully badly done animation and voice acting.

** Also the case for the infamous ''[[Half Life: Full Life Consequences]]'' video, though this one is more universally recognized as a joke.

 

== Film ==

:: And while the situation can [[Fridge Logic|raise some eyebrows]] as to why the wizard community is not even grumbling, much less seriously pushes to [[Rage Within the Machine|improve]] or [[The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized|replace]] such an important institution that got so terribly messed up, this would remain the most obvious, uncontested conclusion possible. If only J.K.Rowling had no [[Twitter]] account. But as it happens, she has one (and "confirmed" one at that), which repeatedly made clear at least what the author's standards for <s>trumped-up charges</s> evidence and fairness are: she ''consistently'' joins the most ludicrous smearing campaigns available via Mainstream Media or random people on Twitter, and then ignores any proof of those being [[Quote Mine|obviously made up]], even if given ready links. So far she retracted and apologized to one of the involved parties for [http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/jul/31/jk-rowling/jk-rowling-falsely-accuses-trump-not-shaking-disab/ one], and only after 3 days of "boo!" even from CNN - which in itself is a remarkable achievement for an attempt to smear [[Donald Trump]]. And specifically the incident with [[PewDiePie]] created reasonable doubt in her ability to understand this sort of humor at all. Which raises further questions as to whether the rest was ''supposed to'' be messed up, or with strange aeons even [[Death of the Author]] may die and the only thing wrong with it is "we have no Rule of Law, but there are still too many rules - a lynch mob would get things done"?

{{quote|'''J.K.Rowling''': 'When someone shows you who they are, believe them.' - Maya Angelou [https://web.archive.org/web/20170731155906/https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/890996376980660226] }}

{{quote|Think about this. Two people are tried, convicted, {{spoiler|wait in a jail cell, and then are taken to be executed,}} for something less of a crime and more of an accident, in the space of just about half an hour. It got even more surreal when it became clear that {{spoiler|Tina was on a first name basis with one of the executioners}}, who doesn’t even flinch.}}

* Opinions are split on whether Niccolò Machiavelli's most well-known piece, ''[[The Prince]]'', is a satirical [[Take That]] at the Medici who had recently had him brutally beaten or a genuine article giving advice to monarchical rulers. (Or, as some readers have suggested, Lorenzo di Medici [[Slash Fic]].)

* In his short story collection ''Famous Monsters'', [[Kim Newman]] mentions that Penguin Books asked him to tone down the politics of his story "Pitbull Brittan", a savage satire on Conservatism based on the question "What would it look like if everything the ''[[British Newspapers|Daily Mail]]'' said was ''true''?" To his bafflement, their objection was on the assumption that he was saying the world ''was'' like this.

 

** There's also a pervasive myth that he was mistaken for a real conservative pundit by members of the Bush administration when he was invited to the 2006 correspondents' dinner; the dinner was in large part a traditional roast of the President, and they knew exactly who he was, although they may not have expected him to be ''quite'' [[Gone Horribly Right|so harsh]].

** Some conservatives realize that Colbert is a parody but believe that he makes correct points in character. In other words, the [[Straw Man Has a Point]].

* ''[[Housos]]'' is a [[Black Comedy]] of Australia's working-class bludgers (i.e. the working-class who don't work). Two current affairs programs aired hard-hitting "exposés" on this offensive new [[Reality Show]]. Interestingly, when they realised the show was fake they tried a new angle, complaining about tax-payers money being used to subsidise filth. The show's home channel, [[SBS]], raised all the funds itself. All in all, the ''Housos'' creator was happy at the hilarious free publicity, [http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/nines-current-affair-to-forget-20110217-1ay72.html while the current affairs shows got publicity of the wrong kind altogether].

* An example overlapping with [["Not Making This Up" Disclaimer]]: one recurring segment of ''[[The Chaser's War on Everything]]'' played subtitled clips from more extreme Middle-Eastern television shows which decried the west in the most ridiculous ways possible, including ''[[Tomorrow's Pioneers]]'', a Palestinian childrens' show ripping off Mickey Mouse but encouraging hatred of the west in children. Given what the ''War on Everything'' is normally like, one would expect the subtitling to be a [[Gag Sub]], an exaggeration for comedic purposes. In a great example of Poe's Law in action, it was actually legit - they had to put in [["Not Making This Up" Disclaimer|disclaimers]] establishing that [[The ABC]] had independently confirmed the legitimacy and accuracy of the subtitles.

 

== Music ==

** The blog [http://literallyunbelievable.tumblr.com/ Literally Unbelievable] chronicles people taking Onion articles at face value and posting them on Facebook. It is as hilariously depressing as it sounds. Poe's Law applies recursively here, as it's impossible to tell whether the Facebookers are just playing along with the joke.

** The most controversial "Onion" example is their "Kelly" political cartoons, which still have people arguing about whether they're expressing or parodying conservative ideas. Although the real focus of the cartoons is less ideological than parodying the artistic cliches of bad, lazy political cartoons independent of any specific viewpoint.

* Endemic at [[Conservapedia]], a site created by right wingers [http://www.conservapedia.com/Examples_of_Bias_in_Wikipedia upset at certain things said in Wikipedia]. As soon as it was founded, people descended on it writing completely-over-the-top articles, which some people took seriously. Their ''serious'' projects include [http://www.conservapedia.com/Bible_Retranslation_Project a translation of the Bible into Conservative language.] For instance, the whole "easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven" thing is apparently socialist, and "blessed are the meek" should really be "blessed are the God-fearing".

** [http://www.boingboing.net/2007/02/26/conservapedias-entry.html Here's] a particularly funny example of (apparent) stealth-parody vandalism.

- As of May 25, 2012, says ''Religion: probably Muslim''

- ''On April 27, 2011 Obama officially released his long form birth certificate, which many experts have determined to be a fake and no legal body has determined its authenticity.''}}

** The Conservapedia article on [[George W. Bush]] once said that he was "one of the greatest presidents in American history," that he was "successfully able to salvage the Hurricane Katrina rescue effort after it was sabotaged by a Democratic/Islamo-Fascist conspiracy" and that his unpopularity is entirely due to him being forced by the Democratic Congress to push through bank bailout packages.

** The root of the issue is that the site's proprietor, Andy Schlafly, keeps the site under tight control. The number of satirists has led him to become ever more paranoid and ban-happy... [http://rationalwiki.com/wiki/images/5/56/Wigo1053_5.png the result being that only the parodists remain]{{Dead link}}, driving him ever-deeper into his mad spiral of paranoid banning.

{{quote|"Clearly, the cause of the mistake is not that the genuine article is no better than a mockery; rather, the cause of the mistake is that some people lack the critical thinking skills and/or experience to differentiate the two."}}

** The caption below the picture of the Black Cat and number 13 on that page is even more hilarious. It quotes a ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' article to claim that Christianity reduces belief in superstitions, yet the "unlucky 13" pictured is a superstition ''that has its origins in Christianity''.

* Popehat closed their [http://www.popehat.com/2009/07/22/north-korean-twitter-account-not-genuine/ fake Twitter account] for North Korea's propaganda ministry after legitimate news agencies started picking up stories from it.

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcU4t6zRAKg "John Clarke and Bryan Dawe"] are an Australian comedy duo that satirize politicians and other public figures. A quick glance at the comments on the [[YouTube]] page shows how many people think they're for real. Given that each of those sketches involve John Clarke playing all of the political figures, anyone who watches more than one should very quickly realize that he is not both Prime Minister Rudd and Senator Stephen Conroy, but is in fact a sketch comedian.

** Some cite the interview of Steven by [[Daniel Tosh]] on his TV show ''[[Tosh.0]]'' as definitive proof that the video was fake. The episode involves Tosh [[Perp Sweating|interrogating]] Steven, with the help of [[Michael Winslow]] ([[Hey, It's That Guy!|You know]], [[Adam Westing|that guy who makes the funny noises]]), eventually using a [[Lie Detector|polygraph machine]], and finally resorting to a threat to [[Laser-Guided Karma|shove a remote up his butt if he doesn't tell the truth]]. This is a [[Rule of Funny|comedy show]], and it's not known what occurred back stage.

** Supports often cite the other freakout videos posted of Steven, in which he destroys a microwave, as well as a Christmas tree, and attacks a car with a baseball bat. This would require the parents to be in on the lie as well, which would seem unlikely. This implies that it is [[Occam's Razor|much more likely]] that Steven is simply an out of control teen who acts out, rather then a complex hoax designed to deceive the internet. One wouldn't want to completely assume it's real, though. There is one video where Jack (the filmer) puts the camera in his room and ties the door shut and then gets Steven's attention. However, there was ''another'' video of the exact same thing where Steven has what would appear to be a pickle inside his underwear and Jack did the ''same'' prank. Jack then said that Steven saw the video, made him remove it and ''make another one''... which was the one with the [[Gag Penis]]. For some reason, Steven's acting a ''lot'' more irrational in the "Remake". Wafflepwn (Jack) removed both. Several things seem to be just freak coincidences, such as Steven "finding out" about the videos when he supposedly found out about one of those videos earlier (and is apparently very stupid as both vids had "part", as well as titles and he didn't look for it), conveniently walking in during an interview... and not ''once'' has he ever gone after the camera. And he obviously knows that Jack's filming... isn't it weird that if he ''does'' have such a rabid temper and only has enough control to say "Turn off that camera" or "stop filming", since he apparently ''knows'' his brother has put videos on the internet? One would assume he'd grab that camera and smash it rather than screaming or hitting something replaceable.

* ''[[Cracked.com]]'' has two articles about "Satirists Attacked by People Who Totally Missed the Point," [http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-satirists-attacked-by-people-who-totally-missed-point/ 1-5] and [http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-more-satirists-attacked-by-people-who-missed-point/ 6-9.]

** Also, see [http://www.cracked.com/article_19036_too-stupid-satire-how-media-branded-me-as-racist.html this article] about how the blogger meant to come off as so ridiculous that nobody could take it seriously... ''and the media thought he was being literal.''

** It shouldn't take long to realize that [http://www.cracked.com/article_15739_50-reasons-lord-rings-sucks.html this article about Lord of the Rings] is a parody. But according to the comments, some people still didn't get it.

** Alice Jane Axness writes in "[http://www.cracked.com/blog/in-defense-lena-dunham-people-who-hate-her/ In Defense of Lena Dunham and People Who Hate Her]" that a certain TruthRevolt article, which accuses Dunham of having sexually assaulted her younger sister when both were less than eight years old, is "so mired in the hatred of women that it reads more like a really terrible attempt at satire than anything."

* The jury is still out as to whether ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20080709075217/http://www.timecube.com/ Timecube]'' is real or a parody of schizophrenic antisemitic conspiracy theorists. It doesn't help that Gene Ray is a [[Reclusive Artist]].

* @RealPeerReview on [[Twitter]] caught lots of loonie papers, and then re-posted a long series of samples from postmodernist "humanities" papers in the following format:

{{quote|'''@CBrenchley''': Didn’t you call out the dog study?

'''@RealPeerReview''': Indeed, it was our exposure of the dog rape culture paper that unwittingly cut the glorious experiment short... }}

* A group parodying the Tea Party released videos advocating a boycott of Disney's ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' on the grounds that it was Islamic propaganda. Many were confused as to whether the videos were serious or not, but in this case the fact that it was believable as a Tea Party position ''was'' part of the point of the parody.

* ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcCvvJWyx4c&feature=player_embedded PolitiChicks]'', a right-wing "answer" to ''[[The View]]'', has led to endless discussion in the comment section (as well as on [https://web.archive.org/web/20140912000620/http://www.gay.net/politics/2011/11/16/antigay-talk-show-launched-victoria-jackson a] [http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2011/11/video-anti-islam-anti-gay-pro-watching-toonces-drive-a-car.html number] of [http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/11/teabagger-politichicks.html other] [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/victoria-jackson-politichicks-web-show_n_1097796.html sites]) about whether it's serious or a parody, with the fact that ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' alumna Victoria Jackson is involved causing some (perhaps mistaken) impression that it's all a skit.

* When G4 held their 2011 VideoGame Deathmatch and pitted ''[[Skyrim]]'' against ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword]]'', the ''Zelda Universe'' fansite posted an [http://www.zeldauniverse.net/zelda-news/skyrim-needs-your-help/# article] sarcastically imploring their readers to help ''Skyrim'', "our favorite game," help win the vote. So many people in the comments took it at face value that ZU had to post [http://www.zeldauniverse.net/zelda-news/on-skyrim-vs-skyward-sword/ another article] explaining that it was meant to be a joke. Incidentally, the comments themselves exhibit this trope as well; some site members tried to partake of the sarcasm in their own comments and got said comments voted down to as low as ''-20''.

* ''Regretsy'', a now-defunct website that used to make fun of ridiculous Etsy products (its tagline was "Where DIY Meets WTF") had a column called "Etsy or Regretsy?", where they interspersed actual bizarre Etsy listings with parodies created by the Regretsy staff, and had the readers guess which were real and which were fake. It was harder than you'd think.

* Quoth ''[[(The Customer is) Not Always Right]]'' - "Either [http://notalwaysright.com/knowledge-on-fizzy-is-fuzzy-part-2 that] was one of the most entertaining prank calls I’ve ever gotten, or… Well, I don’t want to think about it [[The Ditz|if she was actually serious]]!"

* ''[[Cracked.com]]'''s [http://www.cracked.com/article_20203_the-5-most-epic-backfires-in-history-bad-jokes.html The 5 Most Epic Backfires in the History of Bad Jokes]. From the lead: "The problem with sarcasm is that you can do it so well (or so poorly) that people don't realize you're joking."

* Search for "[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/c-plus-equality-c C Plus Equality]". Read its README file (if you're looking at the repository root, you'll probably see this text below the directory tree either way). At which place it became obvious this was a parody? Okay, there was at least one Tumblr feminist who recommended it to colleagues for a day - the post is sanitized now, but the later apology is still there.

 

== Western Animation ==

 

* In a strange case, creationist speaker Kent Hovind earned the P.T. Barnum "One Born Every Minute" Award when he incorporated information of the finding of man and dinosaur fossils co-existing and the government cover-up of this discovery, from a website into his lectures as evidence against evolution. In reality, the website was a fake one ([http://www.nmsr.org/Archive.html and somewhat conspicuously so]) that the New Mexicans for Science and Reason (NMSR) had set up as an April Fool's Day prank.

* As a satire of excessive capitalism, an artist made a bench that you must pay to sit on; overstay your purchased welcome and the bench will ''impale you with steel spikes''. And now, a Chinese park owner who didn't get the joke [https://web.archive.org/web/20110907122522/http://www.metro.co.uk/news/838228-retractable-spikes-installed-on-park-benches-to-deter-lazy-bums actually wants to install these in his park] to prevent hobos from hanging around on the benches. Yeah, that's gonna end well...

* At the First West Coast Computer Faire, Apple engineer Steve Wozniak had made several gag brochures for a successor to the MITS Altair called the "Zaltair." The ad copy was filled with absurd claims, like having 18 expansion card slots, a new "BAZIC" programming language that could be rewritten by the user, and a case that will "add to the decor of any living room." People bombarded the MITS stand with questions about the new model, and it wasn't until late in the day that anyone caught on to the joke. Today, these brochures are highly sought-after collector's items.

* [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/coca-cola-garlic/ Garlic-flavored Coca-Cola.] This claim that Coca-Cola was marketing garlic-flavored Coke in Romania was actually a hoax created via photoshopping, probably intended for Halloween (Transylvania is in Romania, garlic repels vampires) but many consumers actually thought it was real. Still, the hoax seems to have inspired a Japanese soda company to [[Defictionalised|make such a beverage]]. [https://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/drink/garlic-cola-japan-s-latest-crazy-beverage No really.]

 

== Real Life ==

* [[Salvador Dali]] once sent a telegram for Romania's communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu, for his adoption of a scepter as part of his regalia. Dali's intent was to mock him, but Ceauşescu, who had one of the biggest [[Cult of Personality|personality cults]] ever, took it seriously, and the text was published in the Party's newspaper. When he ''did'' find out it was a joke, he fired the editor who published it. Never mind that he was the one who ordered it to be published.

 

== In-Universe Examples ==

* In 1985 MIT pranksters managed to get a sculpture included in an exhibition at MIT's List Visual Art Center. Titled "No Knife", it consisted of an overturned wastebasket on which was a dining hall tray, plate, bowl, glass, fork and two spoons. It was accompanied by an artist's statement describing it as "a study in mixed media earth tones", and going on to praise and interpret it ("The casual formalism of the place setting draws upon our common internal instincts of existential persistence to unify us with the greater consciousness of human bondage") in a parody of the style of art criticism. It took the gallery staff several hours to discover it was not actually part of the exhibition.

* A group of students at Rice once assembled a bunch of junk brought up from a college basement in the middle of the college's quad and declared it to be art, just to see if anyone would believe them. They ended up winning an award and receiving a small grant, and the thing stayed up for the entire semester.

* [[Sarah Palin]] mocked the way her opponents [[What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?|obsess over minor misstatements of hers]] by releasing a blog post consisting entirely of erroneous statements made by President [[Barack Obama]]. At least some of her detractors criticized the new "mistakes" from Mrs. Palin.

** Reimagined with [[Beam Me Up, Scotty|common knowledge]] that Sarah Palin said, "I can see Russia from my house!" ...via Tina Fey's parody.

* The Guardian finally pokes fun at the long standing leftist idea that promoting humans rights in totalitarian hellholes is the modern definition of "imperialism". [http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=1689 Doesn't it?]

 

 

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