Onion article makes congressman weep

It’s hard to take an Onion article seriously, but it’s even harder if you do and you’re a U.S. congressman.

U.S. Rep. John Fleming

TheAtlanticWire.com reports the unfortunate turn of events for U.S. Rep. John Fleming (R-Louisiana) who is alleged to have taken as legit an Onion article bearing the headline “Planned Parenthood Opens $8 billion Abortionplex.”

Fleming, or his staff, posted a link to the article on his Facebook page with the message “More on Planned Parenthood, abortion by the wholesale.”

A Facebook commenter quickly opined — “The Onion is satire. How exactly did you get elected?”

Fleming’s spokesperson told Politico.com the post had been removed from Facebook but had no further comment.

The Abortionplex article is not new, it first appeared in 2011, but the article was making the rounds again in wake of the Susan G. Komen/Planned Parenthood imbroglio.

It’s also not new that Onion articles are taken way too seriously.

In 2002, one of China’s most popular newspapers republished a bogus story saying Congress would move to Memphis or Charlotte unless a new Capitol building with a retractable dome was constructed.

Onion editor Joe Randazzo said the publication is proud to count Fleming as a reader.

“We’re delighted to hear that Rep. Fleming is a regular reader of America’s Finest News Source and doesn’t bother himself with The New York Times, Washington Post, the mediums of television and radio, or any other lesser journalism outlets,” he said in a statement.