As tearful relatives beg authorities and search crews to find the Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared nearly a week ago, popular satire websites have announced they can wait no longer to make light of the tragedy.
“We’re fed up,” said Cole Bolton, editor of The Onion. “The late-night shows get to make jokes about the search for the airplane, so why can’t we?”
“We want some of that hot Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 action,” Bolton added.
The sentiment was echoed by other satirical publications.
“It’s been what, three weeks already?” said Daniel Barkeley, founder of hoax-monger The Daily Currant. “Oh, one week? That’s long enough.”
“It’s the fucking top story, for crying out loud,” said Allen Montgomery, publisher of The National Report. “We’ve got to earn a living, too.”
While some people might disapprove of jokes made at the expense of the missing 239 passengers and crew, all of whom have distraught, grieving or downright hysterical family members whose very existence has been thrown into a dizzying world of nightmarish uncertainty exacerbated by non-stop coverage from the world’s insatiable and unscrupulous media, others say poking fun at current events is a healthy way to celebrate freedom of expression.
The creators of The Daily Mash, a popular British satire website known to be a little tactful regarding tragedies, say that for the moment, they cannot think of anything funny to write about Flight 370.
“Some people say the Malaysian military should be ashamed for not being able to better interpret data collected from radar,” said co-founder Neil Rafferty. “But that’s not exactly ripe for spoofing, and in any case, The Onion already gave it a try, so until clearer evidence of bumbling incompetence pops up, we’re going to hold off.”