The online version of China’s Communist Party newspaper hailed a report by The Onion naming North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as 2012’s Sexiest Man Alive.
Only one problem: The Onion is a satirical, fake news organization.
The People’s Daily on Tuesday ran a 55-page photo spread under the headline “North Korea’s top leader named The Onion’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2012.”
Quoting the Onion’s spoof report, the Chinese newspaper wrote:
‘With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman’s dream come true.”
Hard to argue that, no? The hilarious, bogus article continues:
“Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, [Kim brings] impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile.”
Photos the People’s Daily selected include Kim on horseback and waving toward a military parade. In other photos, he is wearing sunglasses and smiling, or with his wife Ri Sol Ju.
It is not the first time a state-run Chinese newspaper has believed The Onion.
In 2002, the Beijing Evening News published as news the fictional account that the U.S. Congress was negotiating for a new building and threatening to leave D.C.
Kim Jong Un, 29, took his father Kim Jong Il’s place as the head of the rogue Asian nation following the elder Kim’s death in December 2011.
People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive 2012 was Channing Tatum.