News satire, also called
fake news, is a type of
parody presented in a format typical of mainstream
journalism, and called a
satire because of its content. News satire has been around almost as long as journalism itself, but it is particularly popular on the
web, where it is relatively easy to mimic a credible news source and stories may achieve wide distribution from nearly any site. News satire relies heavily on
irony and
deadpan humor.