All the Times People Were Fooled by The Onion
FIFA's Jack Warner cited the satirical newspaper in his defense.
— -- The former FIFA vice president who cited an article in "The Onion" in his defense this weekend isn't the only official who didn't know that it's a satirical news site.
Jack Warner, who was indicted last week by the U.S. Department of Justice for alleged corruption, released an 8-minute video on Sunday explaining his defense and cited an article from last Wednesday by "The Onion" with the headline, "FIFA Frantically Announces 2015 Summer World Cup in the United States." The portion with the citation was later removed from the video.
The video was later edited and references to the satirical newspaper and website removed.
Here's more about Warner's snafu and other examples of other people that have made similar mistakes:
1. Ex-FIFA Official Thinks U.S. Will Host Imaginary 2015 World Cup
In his video, Warner held a printout of the article in the video and said, “All this has stemmed from the failed U.S. bid to host the World Cup.”
He accused the U.S. of hypocrisy for accepting the non-existent World Cup 2015, saying this action was "from the very same organization that they are accusing of being corrupt. That has to be double standards.”
The U.S. failed in its bid to host the 2022 World Cup, which will be hosted by Qatar.
2. China's People's Daily Cites Kim Jong-un as Sexiest Man Alive
Though North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has not joined the likes of Brad Pitt and Will Smith as "People" magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive," "The Onion" seemed to foll China's People's Daily Online into believing so.
In November 2012, the online article included 55 photos of Kim with quotes from The Onion such as: "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."
3. Iran News Agency Falls for Fake Gallup Poll
A news agency in Iran, Fars News, re-printed an article from "The Onion" in September 2012 with the headline "Gallup Poll: Rural Whites Prefer Ahmadinejad to Obama."
The fake poll reported that "77 percent of rural Caucasian voters ... would much rather go to a baseball game or have a drink with Ahmadinejad than spend time with Obama.”
4. Bangladesh Newspaper Reports Neil Armstrong Conspiracy
Bangladeshi news media also had an article citing The Onion from August 31, 2009, with the headline: "Conspiracy Theorist Convinces Neil Armstrong Moon Landing Was Faked."
"The Onion" had reported: "Apollo 11 mission commander and famed astronaut Neil Armstrong shocked reporters at a press conference Monday, announcing he had been convinced that his historic first step on the moon was part of an elaborate hoax orchestrated by the United States government."
The Daily Manab Zamin and The New Nation later apologized and issued retractions.
5. Tech Company Falls for Olympics Sex Satire
Chinese tech company Tencent fell for a made-up video report in The Onion that described the typical Olympiad rendezvous at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Tencent's sports channel hosted a video on its website, saying "Western media" released "explosive" footage of a "crazy sex party" in the Olympic village, as translated into English by one Chinese newspaper that reported about the gaffe.
"The Onion" video from February 2014 ran with the headline, "Olympic Village Tour: See Where The Athletes Live, Train And F---- Each Other,"