Satirical article prompts fears at Parkland
Website uses photo of local building in gun violence story; officials try to alleviate concerns
Website uses photo of local building in gun violence story; officials try to alleviate concerns.
A mock article in the satirical online newspaper The Onion about school shootings featured a photo of Parkland High School, prompting South Whitehall police and district administrators to console “distraught” students upset their school was used for a story depicting gun violence.
On Wednesday, The Onion published an online story with the headline “School Shooter Thankfully Stopped Before Doing Enough Damage To Restart National Gun Debate.” At the top of the piece was a photo of the Parkland High School building with police tape photoshopped in the foreground, implying a shooting had occurred at the South Whitehall Township campus.
The Onion, a digital newspaper that satirizes news events, did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment on why and how Parkland High School was chosen as art for the story.
Parkland High School shares the same name of the town, Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day 2018.
South Whitehall Township police interviewed Parkland High students this week to alleviate their concerns, according to the Parkland School District. The district also reached out to The Onion asking that the photo be removed, Parkland spokeswoman Nicole Mehta McGalla said.
Students were distressed with the photo, the district said, and some Parkland High students and alumni tweeted their frustration to The Onion about the photo being used.
“You shouldn’t be posting pictures of schools that have nothing to do with a school shooting,” one student tweeted at The Onion. “This is my school and this article caused outrage and many upset teenagers. This is ridiculous.”
Anthony Naradko, Parkland’s director of safety and security, said in an email to faculty and staff that some students were “distraught” to see their school depicted in a story about school violence.
The district provided The Morning Call with the email and said a similar one was sent to high school students.
Parkland administrators and South Whitehall police interviewed students to address their concerns and make sure no threats were circulating online, according to Naradko’s email. South Whitehall Police Chief Glen Dorney did not immediately return a phone call.
“While we can’t control the internet, this is a teachable moment for students,” Naradko said in the email. “The Internet frequently contains information that is not accurate or credible.”
Neither The Onion’s fictitious article nor the photo caption mention Parkland High School, but students and alumni recognized a section of the high school used in the photo.
“Why don’t you use a picture of your own high school next time so you can scare YOUR closest friends and family instead of a bunch of strangers from eastern PA, okay? Thanks,” a 2018 Parkland graduate tweeted.
“This is a photo of my actual high school,” one Twitter user posted. “Not into this.”
Morning Call reporter Jacqueline Palochko can be reached at 610-820-6613 or at jpalochko@mcall.com.