I know everything they write is potentially a joke but I got curious when The Onion was founded; apparently it was in 1988, 38 years ago :)
replyIt sounds like their archive contains 270 year old contents, not that they’re 270 year old company
replyhttps://theonion.com/about-us/ says:
reply> Rising from its humble beginnings as a print newspaper in 1756, The Onion now enjoys a daily readership of 4.3 trillion and has grown into the single most powerful and influential organization in human history.
so I'm pretty sure it's just a joke.
Seems legit, I trust them. They even filed an amicus brief with scotus
replyHere's the amicus brief: https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-293/242292/2022...
replyRead the whole thing. Lots of onion-type gags in there.
replyHow does that work on the authoring side? Are there staff writers that follow a court document style guide, or are there lawyers on retainer that are a personality match for the org?
replyGillis (head writer for the onion) drafted the tone, arguments and jokes. He connected to Novak's lawyer through a friend at the firm. Novak's lawyer then connected Gillis to a former colleague who helped format it and provide relevant legal statute.
replyI was surprised that they didn't contribute to the jokes, it really does read like it was written by a particularly funny lawyer.
Yeah I know, nobody takes The Onion at face value. They like to play with words
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