Satirical military news site fools some readers

Satirical military news site fools some readers
By Gina Harkins
Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Aug 14, 2012

A fake military news site is doing such a good job of lampooning the service, it’s already duped some officials into thinking their breaking news is real.

Former Marine Sgt. Paul Szoldra, from Lakeland, Fla., runs The Duffel Blog, the military’s equivalent to the satirical newspaper, The Onion. He has about 20 writers regularly contributing stories on a volunteer basis from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps.

“I guess airmen just don’t have anything to complain about,” he said, jokingly about the site’s lack of Air Force contributors.

The stories on The Duffel Blog are never real and are often ridiculous. But Szoldra, a 28-year-old college senior, and his contributors mimic the look of real news stories very well. When a story announcing a Defense Department ban on Tapout apparel for all troops went up, some people got pretty upset.
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