One of America's most respected fake news outlets took their time in responding to the shooting at French satire newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday. Their first reaction came out at around 4:00 p.m. ET in the form of a new article:
When compared to some of The Onion's past responses to terrorism, the article takes a cautious approach by channeling the staff's sheer disbelief that such a horrific act could be committed against fellow comedy writers.
“The heartbreaking tragedy that unfolded in Paris today is the result of a perverted, hateful ideology that has no place in the civilized world,” is a quote that someone or some group of people might be reading at this very moment and, in what unfortunately serves to illustrate the horrifying state of modern society, interpreting as an unforgivable insult against their beliefs that must be met with the cold-blooded murder of innocent people. “It’s just so terrible and senseless. I mean, how can something like this even happen?”
Former Onion Editor Joe Randazzo penned a heartfelt reaction on MSNBC.com the morning of the shooting in defense of satire. Many other comedians have expressed their shock and sadness on Twitter.