Onion writers to speak at Pittsburgh Humanities Festival

“I don’t think we’ve been any more vigilant [in making it clear this is fake] because we were always pretty vigilant before. But it’s a thing where it’s just in the backs of our minds a little more recently,” Mr. Vali said.

An Onion post always begins with a headline pitch. The staff throws out premises, then culls the field in a second round. From there, others shape the story.

“It’s incredibly intimidating,” Mr. Spina said, who joined The Onion as a fulltime staff in January. “I think that’s partially by design ... I went from never having done any professional comedy before to being in the writers room.”

As regular readers know, many Onion stories are much smarter than they might appear on the surface. One of Mr. Vali’s favorites, from 2010: “Millions of Barrels of Oil Safely Reach Port in Major Environment Catastrophe.” The story went on to explain how this crude oil would soon be polluting the environment via millions of cars.

“Every once in awhile they hit this balance of something incredibly silly with something incredibly tragic,” said Mr. Spina, who offered one of his favorites, from 2013: “17-Year Cicadas Horrified to Learn About 9/11.”

But then there are the just-downrightsilly articles. A 1999 story about a pudding factory explosion described a “snacktastrophe” that “spelled flavorful, mouth-watering doom for hundreds of innocent people” living in the valley below.

And there are the poignant scenarios everyone can relate to. From 2013, a report began: “Local man Marshall Platt, 34, came tantalizingly close to kicking back and having a good time while attending a friend’s barbeque last night before remembering each and every one of his professional and personal obligations, backyard sources confirmed.”

“A small moment,” Mr. Spina said of the story, “but just so identifiable for me.”