Finding humor in Ukraine war? It’s (always) the Onion’s way

NEW YORK — Like all effective satire, the Onion’s headline had a ring of truth: “Putin Pleased as Plot to Ruin Russian Economy, Destroy International Standing Goes Exactly to Plan.” A month after Russia invaded Ukraine, the comedy website has been willing to Go There, to look for humor in the most searing of stories even as it unfolds. Its list of the war’s potential outcomes ranged from “a lot of really bad speculative historical fiction” to “the Mets win the World Series.” A map of Ukraine identifies the “only decent taco place in the whole damn country.” A mock slide show on Putin’s rise to power shows a pregnant woman with the caption, “Putin’s parents decide to try for an evil megalomaniac.” Under another picture of a gravestone, the caption reads: “Opponent for student council treasurer suffers mysterious organ failure.” The Onion’s decision not to ignore a thorny topic recalls one of its most impactful moments, when its print issue two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks helped break a comedy barrier, says Sophia McClennen, a Penn State University professor and author of the upcoming book, “Trump Was a Joke: How Satire Made Sense of a President Who Didn’t.” That issue’s cover pictured President George W. Bush under the headline, “U.S. The Onion sometimes looks to be merely entertaining instead of satirical, says James Caron, author of “Satire as the Comic Public Sphere.” “It’s just kind of silly at times,” Caron says. To the statement that Russia claimed Ukraine is harboring biological weapons, the Onion said “fabricating allegations about enemies holding biological weapons is America’s job.” “CLAIM: Rudy Giuliani is a valued Russian asset acting against Ukraine in service of the Kremlin,” the Onion wrote.