The State-run Chinese newspaper People's Daily published a fawning, 55-image slideshow of boyish North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un after being duped by a fake headline in the satirical publication The Onion.
In a spoof of People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" issue, The Onion published an article titled "Kim Jong-Un Named The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive For 2012."
The breathless commentary begins, "With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman's dream come true. Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper's editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile."
The People's Daily missed the satire, publishing direct quotes in all seriousness. China is the largest and most powerful authoritarian nation in the world, and it lavishes economic aid, military technology and political support on North Korea, an even more authoritarian nation that has been compared to a giant prison camp.
Perhaps The Onion's list of previous winners confused the editors at the People's Daily, as it includes Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, pyramid scheme fraudster Bernie Madoff, Tea Party billionaires Charles and David Koch, and mass-murdering Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.
But surely the rest of The Onion article should have tipped them off? "'He has that rare ability to somehow be completely adorable and completely macho at the same time,' Onion Style and Entertainment editor Marissa Blake-Zweibel said. 'And that's the quality that makes him the sort of man women want, and men want to be. He's a real hunk with real intensity who also knows how to cut loose and let his hair down.'"
This isn't the first time a Chinese state-run paper has fallen for a satirical piece from The Onion. In 2002, The Beijing Evening News ran an Onion article stating that the United States Congress was threatening to relocate to Memphis or Charlotte unless it got a nicer building.
Well, I suppose anyone could fall for that story.