Mark Schatzker, a Canadian satirist, told The Lede on Wednesday that it was “a huge surprise” to him to learn that opponents of the Occupy Wall Street movement in the United States, including Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, have been using this quote, from a 38-year-old protester named Jeremy puzzled by the habits of bankers on Bay Street, in Toronto’s financial district, as evidence that that the protesters are lazy:
“It’s weird protesting on Bay Street. You get there at 9 a.m. and the rich bankers who you want to hurl insults at and change their worldview have been at work for two hours already. And then when it’s time to go, they’re still there. I guess that’s why they call them the one per cent. I mean, who wants to work those kinds of hours? That’s the power of greed.” - Jeremy, 38
Mr. Schatzker was surprised because Jeremy is a fictional character he invented recently for his weekly humor column published in Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper.
As the Web site Mediate reported this week, opponents of the protest movement were apparently so pleased to read the quote Mr. Schatzker attributed to Jeremy — a 38-year-old protester puzzled by the habits of bankers on Bay Street, in Toronto’s financial district — that they failed to notice that the column was clearly labelled “Satire” at the very top before copying the text and sharing it by on Facebook, in e-mails, on blogs and even in outraged YouTube videos.
The fake quote was so widely cited that it even ended up being repeated on Tuesday by Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, at a campaign event.
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The New York Times, “Satirist Surprised His ‘Occupy’ Fiction Was Cited as Fact.”
LOL Republicans.
Alternative headline: “People With Common Sense Not Surprised Conservatives Cited ‘Occupy’ Fiction As Fact.”
(via inothernews)
(via michaelk42)
