The Press Democrat (via Yahoo News)
The California Parenting Institute was deluged with phone calls and emails last week after The Onion published a satirical story about a study that found “every style of parenting inevitably causes children to grow into profoundly unhappy adults.” There was enough confusion about the study (which the real CPI never conducted) that the Santa Rosa nonprofit issued a news release:
“Generally people recognize The Onion and are familiar with what we do. However, there are certainly cases of confusion for those that have never heard of us,” said The Onion spokeswoman Anne Finn.
Social media and lightning quick communication can deliver news, but [CPI director Robin] Bowen said it’s not always clear from where the information is coming.
“I’m totally aware that it’s satire,” she said. “But it’s spreading through the Internet and people’s blogs and where it’s coming from is getting left off and it’s looking like a news story.”
Perhaps CPI should study parental insecurity.
