You Have To Laugh Not To Cry
You Have To Laugh Not To Cry
Brazil’s crises have been very good for Sensacionalista, a site that’s based on The Onion and now one of the most popular “news” sites in the country. Two years ago, the group had 30,000 likes on Facebook. Today, it has 2.8 million.
At times, real Brazilian headlines can seem absurd. For example, military police killed a jaguar, the national animal, at an Olympic-torch lighting ceremony; the interim president’s new cabinet only has white men; and just weeks before the Olympics, the tourism minister has resigned.
Bob met co-founders Nelito Fernandes and Martha Mendonca at their home in Rio de Janeiro (they’re married) to hear about how the Brazilian public has been reading the news through the lens of satire — and what news is too awful even for jokes.