Founded in 1988 by Tim Keck and Christopher Johnson, The Onion began as a satirical print newspaper at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Keck and Johnson, then college juniors, came up with the idea of creating a humorous publication that parodied traditional news formats. The name “The Onion“ reportedly came from the founders eating onion sandwiches while brainstorming ideas for the paper. In 2019, The Onion was acquired by Great Hill Partners and became part of G/O Media, which owns several digital media outlets.Today, The Onion is primarily an online satirical news organization that covers a wide range of topics including politics, sports, entertainment, science, and technology. Based in Chicago, Illinois, The Onion produces written articles, videos, and podcasts that mimic the style of traditional news outlets but with entirely fictional and often absurdist content. Their satirical takes on current events and societal issues have gained them a large following both in the United States and internationally.One interesting fact: Despite being a satirical publication, The Onion has occasionally been mistaken for a real news source by individuals and even some news organizations. This has led to several instances where Onion articles have been cited as factual news, highlighting the sometimes blurry line between satire and reality in the digital age.