Cracked.com

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(Free trade is accepted across most of the centre.)
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While Cracked consistently and genuinely takes a stand against all forms of [[homophobia]], [[racism]], [[sexism]], and [[fundamentalism|religious]] [[bigotry]] when it is being serious,<ref>Such as in [http://www.cracked.com/article_19785_5-ways-modern-men-are-trained-to-hate-women.html this fine article]</ref> its love affair with black comedy, self-deprecation, dead baby humor, and (of course) dick jokes often create a mini [[Poe's Law]]. And of course there were some writers genuinely guilty of some or all of the above failings, especially in the earlier years of the site.<ref>For instance, contrast Seanbaby's 2009 articles to his 2012 articles.</ref>
 
While Cracked consistently and genuinely takes a stand against all forms of [[homophobia]], [[racism]], [[sexism]], and [[fundamentalism|religious]] [[bigotry]] when it is being serious,<ref>Such as in [http://www.cracked.com/article_19785_5-ways-modern-men-are-trained-to-hate-women.html this fine article]</ref> its love affair with black comedy, self-deprecation, dead baby humor, and (of course) dick jokes often create a mini [[Poe's Law]]. And of course there were some writers genuinely guilty of some or all of the above failings, especially in the earlier years of the site.<ref>For instance, contrast Seanbaby's 2009 articles to his 2012 articles.</ref>
  
Cracked is so-so when it comes to [[politics]]. It's pro-[[globalization]] and free trade, but wails whenever the word "[[fair trade]]" shows up.<ref>See [http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/4-reasons-why-fair-trade-coffee-scam/ this article] attacking the fair trade movement.</ref> They [[Anti-environmentalism|don't much cotton to environmentalists either]], with terms like "green' and 'carbon footprint' used as buzzwords for "[[Dunning-Kruger effect|brain-dead]] [[Hollywood Values|Hollywood liberal]]."<ref>[http://www.cracked.com/article_19317_7-pieces-good-news-nobody-reporting.html They shake off ozone depletion], which [[Ozone_layer#Ozone depletion denialism|isn't so rational]].</ref><ref>They [http://www.cracked.com/article_18794_6-things-that-are-secretly-turning-you-into-bad-person.html link to a contested study finding that consumers of green products are "less ethical" in daily life.]</ref><ref>[http://www.cracked.com/article_16078_the-5-most-ridiculously-over-hyped-health-scares-all-time_p5.html Flirting with Roger Bate-esque DDT wackiness.] (The comments section does call the writer out on it, so there's that.)</ref> The current site owner is Jason Pargin, aka "David Wong," whose political views make [[Plato]] look like Harvey Milk.<ref>[http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-reasons-news-looks-worse-than-it-really-is/ "7 Reasons The World Looks Worse Than It Really Is."]</ref> This is somewhat at odds with the views of the majority of the commenters who are more centre-left on [[economic]] issues, but the site does still attract quite a few [[libertarians]], albeit more [[moderate]] ones than those on [[YouTube]] or [[Ron Paul]] forums. You'll still get a weakness for [[balance fallacy|the more stupid]] [[appeal to moderation|parts of centrism]] though. (For instance, anti-[[gay marriage]] arguments in the comments section were sometimes given undue weight at times, and those who pointed out it was wrong to ban gays from marriage could be downvoted and told they were being "arrogant."<ref>Fortunately, this has been rectified since the comments section (and Cracked itself) took a much more pro-gay rights attitude.</ref>)
+
Cracked is so-so when it comes to [[politics]]. It's pro-[[globalization]] and free trade, but wails whenever the word "[[fair trade]]" shows up.<ref>See [http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/4-reasons-why-fair-trade-coffee-scam/ this article] attacking the fair trade movement.</ref> They [[Anti-environmentalism|don't much cotton to environmentalists either]], with terms like "green' and 'carbon footprint' used as buzzwords for "brain-dead [[Hollywood Values|Hollywood liberal]]" - which should make your [[Dunning-Kruger]] alarm go off.<ref>[http://www.cracked.com/article_19317_7-pieces-good-news-nobody-reporting.html They shake off ozone depletion], which [[Ozone_layer#Ozone depletion denialism|isn't so rational]].</ref><ref>They [http://www.cracked.com/article_18794_6-things-that-are-secretly-turning-you-into-bad-person.html link to a contested study finding that consumers of green products are "less ethical" in daily life.]</ref><ref>[http://www.cracked.com/article_16078_the-5-most-ridiculously-over-hyped-health-scares-all-time_p5.html Flirting with Roger Bate-esque DDT wackiness.] (The comments section does call the writer out on it, so there's that.)</ref> And the current site owner is Jason Pargin, aka "David Wong," whose political views make [[Plato]] look like Harvey Milk.<ref>[http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-reasons-news-looks-worse-than-it-really-is/ "7 Reasons The World Looks Worse Than It Really Is."]</ref> This is somewhat at odds with the views of the majority of the commenters who are more centre-left on [[economic]] issues, but the site does still attract quite a few [[libertarians]], albeit more [[moderate]] ones than those on [[YouTube]] or [[Ron Paul]] forums. You'll still get a weakness for [[balance fallacy|the more stupid]] [[appeal to moderation|parts of centrism]] though. (For instance, anti-[[gay marriage]] arguments in the comments section were sometimes given undue weight at times, and those who pointed out it was wrong to ban gays from marriage could be downvoted and told they were being "arrogant."<ref>Fortunately, this has been rectified since the comments section (and Cracked itself) took a much more pro-gay rights attitude.</ref>)
  
 
As you can see above, stray bits of [[science woo]] will creep into articles. (And sometimes, they'll defend woo promoters like [[Dr. Oz]].)<ref>http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-dumb-celebrities-who-are-way-smarter-than-you-think/</ref> However, articles debunking or critical of science woo and [[denialism]] well outnumber the ones supporting it. While you're generally safe in relaxing standards of [[due diligence]] for this website, it's not as ironclad as, say, [[Snopes]].<ref>Cracked articles generally lack any citations more rigorous than embedded Wikipedia links... for the most part.</ref>
 
As you can see above, stray bits of [[science woo]] will creep into articles. (And sometimes, they'll defend woo promoters like [[Dr. Oz]].)<ref>http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-dumb-celebrities-who-are-way-smarter-than-you-think/</ref> However, articles debunking or critical of science woo and [[denialism]] well outnumber the ones supporting it. While you're generally safe in relaxing standards of [[due diligence]] for this website, it's not as ironclad as, say, [[Snopes]].<ref>Cracked articles generally lack any citations more rigorous than embedded Wikipedia links... for the most part.</ref>

Revision as of 07:22, 26 October 2013

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Wonder where they got the name from.

Cracked.com, or just Cracked, is a website created by humorist Daniel O'Brien, the online successor to a long-running (1958 to 2007) humor magazine of the same name. After amassing a stable of some snarky authors and later providing a smorgasbord of video content it has become one of the most visited humor websites on the Internet,[1] with the average article amassing well over a million views after a couple of weeks.

While at first glance the website seems to be glorifying broscience and sensationalism, dig deeper and you'll find that Cracked.com tries to be a pro-science and pro-skepticism hub on (the popular part of) the Internet. Articles like "The Truth Behind 5 'Real Monsters' That Fooled The Internet"[2] and "5 Retarded Get-Rich Quick Scams People Still Fall For"[3] (most articles are lists) show what the site is capable of. It's like Wikipedia with dick jokes. (But at least they don't do the watermelon gags that the magazine did back in the day.)

Despite being despised by the site runners, Cracked.com commentaters are also, surprisingly, smarter and wittier than most visitors to similar websites, making the comments section often just as much of a treat as the actual article. This says more about the rest of the Internet than Cracked.com's clientele.[4]

Contents

Amounts of clue may vary

While Cracked consistently and genuinely takes a stand against all forms of homophobia, racism, sexism, and religious bigotry when it is being serious,[5] its love affair with black comedy, self-deprecation, dead baby humor, and (of course) dick jokes often create a mini Poe's Law. And of course there were some writers genuinely guilty of some or all of the above failings, especially in the earlier years of the site.[6]

Cracked is so-so when it comes to politics. It's pro-globalization and free trade, but wails whenever the word "fair trade" shows up.[7] They don't much cotton to environmentalists either, with terms like "green' and 'carbon footprint' used as buzzwords for "brain-dead Hollywood liberal" - which should make your Dunning-Kruger alarm go off.[8][9][10] And the current site owner is Jason Pargin, aka "David Wong," whose political views make Plato look like Harvey Milk.[11] This is somewhat at odds with the views of the majority of the commenters who are more centre-left on economic issues, but the site does still attract quite a few libertarians, albeit more moderate ones than those on YouTube or Ron Paul forums. You'll still get a weakness for the more stupid parts of centrism though. (For instance, anti-gay marriage arguments in the comments section were sometimes given undue weight at times, and those who pointed out it was wrong to ban gays from marriage could be downvoted and told they were being "arrogant."[12])

As you can see above, stray bits of science woo will creep into articles. (And sometimes, they'll defend woo promoters like Dr. Oz.)[13] However, articles debunking or critical of science woo and denialism well outnumber the ones supporting it. While you're generally safe in relaxing standards of due diligence for this website, it's not as ironclad as, say, Snopes.[14]

Additionally, the ads that often infest the site are sometimes not mindful of its attempts to amuse and inform, and instead cater to a projected audience consuming the material — which it seems to think would like to attend disreputable online "universities" or purchase aluminum "ninja swords." Ads, of course, are chosen by a script that picks out keywords instead of understanding context, so any "controversy" here is due more to computer error than editorial decision-making.

Four insane articles you should also read

Four persistent memes that are in every Cracked list

Five Cracked lists that are totally awesome

Eleven amazing footnotes that completely support our assertions

  1. As of August 2012, Ebizmba.com puts it only behind Break.com. The discussion of that website's contents will probably remain beyond the scope of this wiki as it has no real persistent theme or mission other than 'present random PG-rated content a general audience might find funny/interesting.'
  2. "The Truth Behind 5 'Real Monsters' That Fooled The Internet"
  3. "5 Retarded Get-Rich Quick Scams People Still Fall For"
  4. Weep for the future.
  5. Such as in this fine article
  6. For instance, contrast Seanbaby's 2009 articles to his 2012 articles.
  7. See this article attacking the fair trade movement.
  8. They shake off ozone depletion, which isn't so rational.
  9. They link to a contested study finding that consumers of green products are "less ethical" in daily life.
  10. Flirting with Roger Bate-esque DDT wackiness. (The comments section does call the writer out on it, so there's that.)
  11. "7 Reasons The World Looks Worse Than It Really Is."
  12. Fortunately, this has been rectified since the comments section (and Cracked itself) took a much more pro-gay rights attitude.
  13. http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-dumb-celebrities-who-are-way-smarter-than-you-think/
  14. Cracked articles generally lack any citations more rigorous than embedded Wikipedia links... for the most part.
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