Ed O’Keefe
Washington Post
Sept 30, 2011
Just hours after federal officials arrested a man alleged to have plotted an actual attack on the Capitol, the U.S. Capitol Police aren’t laughing about a joke tweet suggesting a similar siege.
The Onion, a satirical newspaper, wrote this on its Twitter feed Thursday morning:
BREAKING: Capitol building being evacuated. 12 children held hostage by group of armed congressmen.#CongressHostageThu Sep 29 14:44:50 via HootSuiteThe Onion
TheOnion
The newspaper followed the “breaking news” tweet with a link to a satirical article suggesting that House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) is serving as spokesman for a “bipartisan group” of congressional hostage-takers. Subsequent messages appeared to provide real-time updates of the completely fictional situation.
The Capitol Police reacted angrily.
One Response to “Onion Twitter joke prompts serious response”
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In real news: Available upon request: official, original, un-doctored BTS .zip files showing the 4 9-11 “hijacked” planes either did not exist or were used for other purposes this day; therefore, the “official” story crumbles. Send request to edmail404 at gmail dot com and then get them out to everyone, everywhere. Thanks. “V” for Victory!