假新闻当新闻报道?
May 26, 2005 – 9:43 pm近来,中国两大门户网站不约而同的在其国际新闻栏目刊出一则“大新闻”，称美国总统布什要卖夏威夷要给日本,此消息引来不少媒体网站和博客的转载。但是大多数国内的读者并不了解此消息的来源。这是一则假新闻，源头来自美国的小报《世界新闻周刊》，这是一家专门写一些耸人听闻的报道来吸引读者的小报。只要看看它的封面就知道它是什么性质的报纸。很遗憾，不少中国的媒体却不加辨别地转载。
有意思的是，这篇报道所谓的拍卖夏威夷，参加的国家还包括中国。不过国内媒体却只字不提。
《世界新闻周刊》素以刊登荒诞不经的假新闻著称，它虽然貌似新闻媒体，但实质颇近似娱乐趣闻和政治笑话杂志。
原文如下:
BUSH WANTS TO SELL HAWAII!
Aloha state on the block party to pay for war on terror
By MARK TOMPKINS Political Correspondent
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In one of the most shocking moves of his presidency, George W. Bush is on the verge of selling Hawaii to Japan, a leading Washington insider has informed Weekly World News.
“Basically, the President sees this as a quick and easy way to generate a huge bundle of cash,” stated the source, an upper-echelon State Department official with close ties to Bush’s inner circle.
“As everyone knows, the U.S. is in debt up to its eyeballs — to the tune of more than $7.5 trillion. And thanks to the gigantic tax cuts Bush keeps giving the super-wealthy and big corporations, the government effectively has no income whatsoever. Bush figures that by selling Hawaii, he’ll be able to pay off a sizeable portion of the national debt while generating funding for continuing military operations in Iraq, and quite possibly, a full-scale invasion of Iran.”
The notion of selling large areas of American territory for profit was inspired by a 2004 cam- paign stop Bush made at an elementary school, according to our source.
“Sitting in on a fourth grade class where kids were giving oral reports on American history, the President was surprised to learn that in 1803, what is now the American Midwest was actually purchased from France for $15 million in a transaction called the Louisiana Purchase. That got Bush thinking that if the U.S. could buy enormous chunks of land from other countries, it could sell land, too, and maybe make a killing doing so.”
Initially, Bush considered putting up Massachusetts for sale, along with several other “blue” states. But after Vice President Dick Cheney pointed out such an action might trigger a massive popular revolt on the U.S. mainland, he and Bush decided to hang a “For Sale” sign on remote, isolated Hawaii. “It’s so far away, that it doesn’t even seem like part of America anyway,” the President is alleged to have said at a cabinet meeting, adding, “Besides, I talked to Daddy about it and he says there’s no oil there, just pineapples and coconuts.”
In a secret nonbinding auction held shortly after Bush’s second inauguration, Japan outbid 10 other countries, including Canada, China and Australia, for ownership of the “Aloha state.”
According to a telephone poll of Hawaiian residents conducted last week, 98 percent described themselves as “extremely P.O.ed” after being told about the President’s alleged plan.
“That arrogant bozo is spitting in the face of everyone who lives here,” fumed Roy Kakaliki, a Honolulu native and founder of the Kakaliki Coconut Company.
“When word of this spreads, there’s going to be Bush effigies burning all over the islands.”
Published on: 05/16/2005