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An elaborate stunt is going on over at The Onion. I have some thoughts on the motives behind it, but first a summary. On Monday publisher T. Herman Zweibel announced the paper’s sale to Yu Wan Mei (YWM), a Chinese Conglomerate specializing in “Amalgamated Salvage Fisheries and Polymer Injection.”

The joke has been taken very, very far by the folks at TheOnion.com. Their iconic green logo morphed into a Chinese-themed red one. Their slogan also changed to reflect new ownership: “America’s Finest News Source And Salvage Fishery” (see screenshot, top).

A complete makeover of TheOnion.com was executed as well – design, color-scheme, special articles, etc. They even built a phony site for their new parent co, Yu Wan Mei (worth a look). The Onion Store is getting in on the act too, advertising their blowout sale on everything with the “Old Onion Logo”.

Bias Emerges

Onion articles published since the buyout do two things: Promote Yu Wan Mei products, and tote the official government line (sound familiar?). Exhibit A: this blatant puff piece titled, “American Consumer Masses Agree: It Fish Time!” Excerpt:

Many citizens in the U.S. are enjoying Yu Wan Mei fish by-products, which are respected throughout the land for their deliciousness and ease of eating, sources confirmed Monday.

Moral of the Story?

Is it just a publicity stunt by a desperate publisher? Viral marketing at its finest? Obviously, every web publisher is looking looking to increase traffic. Revenue is plunging all over the place, the web is certainly not immune. But there are some not-so-subtle messages here too: on media, big corporations, government control, and censorship. And a lot of it is damn funny reading.

Who’s The Target?

So.. An industrial powerhouse takes over a media outlet, resulting in skewed and biased reporting. Right away I thought “Is Yu Wan Mei GE?” After further consideration, no. While GE does catch some flack for soft coverage on CNBC (their subsidiary), it’s a stretch to say that’s why they bought NBC. I suppose owning a big network could hypothetically give GE a powerful platform to influence politics and finance.

GE is also the largest beneficiary of the FDIC’s Debt Guarantee Program, to the tune of $85 Billion raised so far. No big surprises here, and I don’t mean to pick on GE. Conflicts like this are all over the place, but GE came to mind when I heard the story. No matter how you interpret it, The Onion’s ruse is an interesting statement about the relationship between media, government, and big corporations.