People Fed Up with Satire Websites Because They Actually Have to Read the Articles
- Jacob Howard
- Feb 8
- 2 min read
By Brock Lee, Senior Literacy Analyst
HOUSTON — In a shocking turn of events, people across the country are expressing their frustration with satire news websites, claiming they are “tired of actually having to read” to determine if a story is real or not.
“It’s exhausting,” said Houston resident Mark Reynolds. “I just want to glance at a headline and immediately know whether I should be outraged, amused, or indifferent. But now, thanks to sites like The Daily Throb and The Houston Throb, I have to read the whole article just to figure it out? That’s a lot to ask in 2025.”
The outrage comes as satire websites continue to thrive, often blending absurdity with just enough realism to trick the uninformed—or, as some argue, the unwilling-to-read. Critics say it’s becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish satire from reality, especially given that actual news has, at times, sounded just as unbelievable.
“Last week, I read that a Texas lawmaker proposed a bill to make queso the official state currency,” complained Twitter user @RealFactsOnly. “I got all fired up and shared it, only to find out it was from The Daily Throb! Now I look dumb in front of my 43 followers. Thanks a lot!”
Media experts suggest this frustration stems from a growing reliance on headlines alone for information. Studies show that nearly 70% of Americans share news articles without ever clicking on them, leading to a culture where skimming is the norm and reading is considered an unreasonable burden.
“It’s not that satire is the problem,” said media analyst Dr. Linda Page. “It’s that people expect to consume news without engaging with it. If they took a few extra seconds to read, they’d quickly realize that no, H-E-B is not launching a private space program to compete with Elon Musk.”
In response to public complaints, The Daily Throb issued a formal statement:
“We understand that reading is difficult, but we strongly encourage our audience to at least scan past the headline before forming a strong opinion. As a reminder, both The Daily Throb and its subsidiary, The Houston Throb, are satire websites. This means that if a story sounds ridiculous, it’s probably meant to be.”
Despite this clarification, some still demand that satire websites be clearly marked with “THIS IS FAKE” in bold, flashing letters on every article. Others have called for the complete banning of satire news to “end confusion once and for all.”
Meanwhile, real journalists say they envy satire writers.
“I spend weeks investigating serious issues like city corruption, and people barely skim my work,” said local reporter Jennifer Glass. “But some guy makes up a story about Buc-ee’s installing nap pods, and it goes viral. Maybe I should switch careers.”
Until a solution is reached, satire websites will continue to do what they’ve always done—publish fake news that’s more believable than reality. And the general public will continue to be mad about it, mostly because they didn’t take the time to read this far.
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