'Amazon founder clicked on Washington Post sale by mistake': Chinese state media think it's for real
The New Yorker's satirist Andy Borowitz would probably be thrilled to find out that his articles have been translated into Chinese and published - with sensational headlines - by some of China's most-read news sites.
But would Borowitz be more amused if he learned that Chinese state media had run his latest online post as serious breaking news - and that it was not even their first time!
It was first translated and picked up by China Radio International (CRI) on Wednesday. It later appeared on the websites of of Xinhua state news agency, People’s Daily and Phoenix News on Wednesday, as shown by screenshots saved by readers.
By Thursday, CRI has taken down the Borowitz story, but it remained on Xinhua’s website as of noon.
Many of China's bloggers seemed to get a kick out of the incident.
"Even a pupil could tell it's a joke," a blogger said on Weibo.
"Will someone please click on CCTV 'by mistake' and make it go away," another blogger wrote jokingly.