OPINION
7
Gawker Catches HuffPo Falling for Hoax
Arianna must be thrilled, Gawker blogger muses
By Evann Gastaldo
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Posted Jul 22, 09 7:51 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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An airport in Central Park? Sounds ridiculous, but the Huffington Post fell for it yesterday—much to the delight and amusement of Gawker. HuffPo ran a satirical story on its homepage last night (caught in a screenshot by Gawker before it was removed) with what appeared to be a straight face, or at least it did to Ryan Tate. “Apparently the sarcasm in the original Curbed item was too subtle for the website’s editors," writes Tate.
HuffPo editors could have clued in to the hoax, Tate suggests, by viewing the “over-the-top website” that started it, or by noting the fictional Manhattan Airport Foundation “is located on the 58th floor of a building with 57 stories.” The HuffPo since changed its headline to reflect the fact the story is fake—and “we’re sure Arianna Huffington, a notorious micromanager of her website's front page, will be thrilled,” Tate says.