This time around however the joke appears to be on Iran. According to a recap at the Atlantic, Charles Davis, a freelance journalist and blogger at the website Dissident Voice, penned a satirical, fake news piece yesterday titled “EXCLUSIVE: Obama Orders Air Strikes on Guantanamo Bay” (if you need a laugh, it’s a fun read). The “report” was picked up by Iran’s state TV Press TV, which has an office in Washington, who called Davis to verify the story. This from Davis:
Being a bit of an asshole,
I of course responded by sending my Google Voice number. About five minutes later I received a call from ‘Sarah’ in Tehran, who conducted a fact check of my piece consisting of the question: ‘Is it credible?’ Again, being a bit of an asshole, I assured her my sources were second-to-none and that the credibility of the piece was not in doubt, prompting her to invite me to appear on *LIVE* television in an hour. I naturally accepted.
He also apparently provided a photo of “19th century mustachioed Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata” which may have alerted Press TV that all was not as it seemed — the interview, alas, did not end up running. However, perhaps the Onion should consider sending a regular shipment to the Press TV offices, just to give them some practice.