I agree with you except I hate the satire tag. It used to be funny to see how many people fell for it (satire) before they realized they’d been had. Who were the cry babies who came up with the sarcasm tag in the headline? John Semmens satire is not near as funny now.
The forces of evil portrayed that stuff as
“real” FR material. Made us look bad.
Plus, bloggers who think they are hot stuff need all the spankings they can get.
People read FR for information and analysis and opinion. I don’t see how fooling readers can give you your jollies. I’m generally relieved to find the story to not be true, and then am annoyed at having my time wasted and emotions manipulated. Something like a kid ringing a doorbell and running away. Puerile.
Dumbing down. Even Free Republic is not immune.