False Shooting Reports Cause Stir on Capitol Hill

We all know you can't believe everything you read online. Hey, even I've been fooled before. But one bogus story has caused a bit of controversy on Capitol Hill.

Yesterday the Onion, a popular "fake news" site, started posting various Twitter feeds and "updates" about an alleged shooting and hostage situation on Capitol Hill. The story was completely fake, but it caused enough of a commotion that the U.S. Capitol Police were sent to investigate the reports:

“It has come to our attention that recent Twitter feeds are reporting false information concerning current conditions at the U.S. Capitol. Conditions at the U.S. Capitol are currently normal,” said Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, spokeswoman for the Capitol Police.

“There is no credibility to these stories or the Twitter feeds. The U.S. Capitol Police are currently investigating the reporting.”

Although most of the Onion's stories are clearly fake and purely for entertainment, (the site "reported" later that same day that K-Mart was planning to reorganize as a bed-and-breakfast chain and that an asteroid would soon destroy the Earth) a lot of people were not amused by this "news." There have been several high-profile attacks and threats of violence on Capitol Hill recently, including a plot to attack the Pentagon and Capitol Hill just earlier this week.

I'll admit that this story is in poor taste and poor timing considering the recent attempts to attack the Capitol, but maybe that's what the Onion wanted. These people have made a name for themselves by spreading obvious lies for other people's entertainment, this story is no different. The Onion has not apologized for the story, and they probably won't apologize anytime soon.

So, what do you think? Did The Onion step over the line with this fake shooting story?