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Iranian News Reprints Onion Article As Fact

Apparently rural American whites prefer Ahmadinejad to Obama

by
Adam Chandler
September 28, 2012
(Newsbusters)
(Newsbusters)

An immediate candidate for permanent membership in the Annals of Idiocy and Unintentional Comedy™: The FARS News Agency.

Otherwise known as Iran’s state media, FARS reprinted an article from The Onion–America’s finest purveyor of satire–claiming it to be the truth. The subject of the article? The preference of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad among rural American whites to American President Barack Obama.

“I like him better,” said West Virginia resident Dale Swiderski, who, along with 77 percent of rural Caucasian voters, confirmed he would much rather go to a baseball game or have a drink with Ahmadinejad than spend time with Obama.



“He takes national defense seriously, and he’d never let some gay protesters tell him how to run his country like Obama does.”



According to the same Gallup poll, 60 percent of rural whites said they at least respected that Ahmadinejad doesn’t try to hide the fact that he’s Muslim.

Here’s the original.

Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.