Cracked.com

{{title-italics}}[[File:Cracked.com logo.svg|thumb|right|165px|Wonder where they got the name from.]]{{internet}}
{{cquote|There are two types of Cracked articles: one cracks you up; the other cracks your soul.|30px|30px|thebreak<ref group=note>[https://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1760-5-things-i-learned-infiltrating-deep-web-child-molesters.html '''5 Things I Learned Infiltrating Deep Web Child Molesters''' ''Cracked''] Note: This is a comment. So if you want to see it for yourself, prepare to press [https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000306.htm f3] and "load comments".'' [[File:Screenshot-cracked-quote.PNG|400px|right|top|Surprisingly the comment section is usually all right.]]''</ref>}}
'''''Cracked.com''''', or just '''''Cracked''''', is a (debatably) [[clickbait|clickbaity]] website created by humorist Jack O'Brien, the online successor to a long-running (1958 to 2007) {{wpl|Cracked (magazine)|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]],<ref>As of August 2012, [http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/funny-websites 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.'</ref> with the average article amassing well over a million views after a couple of weeks.  Cracked was also one of the pioneers of mass-produced [[clickbait]] listicles; whether you call that ingenuity or an awful legacy is up to you.

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"<ref>[https://www.cracked.com/blog/the-truth-behind-5-real-monsters-that-fooled-the-internet/ "The Truth Behind 5 'Real Monsters' That Fooled The Internet"]</ref> and "5 Idiotic Get-Rich Quick Scams People Still Fall For"<ref>[https://www.cracked.com/article_16648_5-retarded-get-rich-quick-scams-people-still-fall-for.html "5 Stupid Get-Rich Quick Scams (People Still Fall For)"]</ref> (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 [[racism|watermelon]] gags that the magazine did back in the day).

Despite being despised by the site runners, Cracked.com commentators 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 (although, there's still the usual smorgasbord of idiots, so don't get too excited).  This says more about the rest of the Internet than Cracked.com's clientele.<ref group=note>Weep for the future.</ref>

==Amounts of clue may vary==
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 [https://goodmenproject.com/men-and-feminism/cracked-com-on-misogyny/ this fine article]</ref> its love affair with black comedy, self-deprecation, dead baby humor, and (of course) dick jokes often creates 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 group=note>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 words "[[fair trade]]" show up.<ref>See [https://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>[https://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 [https://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>[https://www.cracked.com/article_16078_the-5-most-ridiculously-over-hyped-health-scares-all-time_p5.html Here] they flirt 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" of ''John Dies at the End'' fame, whose political views make [[Plato]] look like Harvey Milk.<ref>[https://www.cracked.com/blog/7-reasons-news-looks-worse-than-it-really-is/ "7 Reasons The World Looks Worse Than It Really Is."]</ref><ref>[https://www.cracked.com/podcast/why-christmas-movies-are-political-propaganda/ "Why Christmas Movies are Political Propaganda", now retitled to "The 7 Most Confusing Morals in Holiday Movies"], his latest argument for why fictional works prove that everyone is as bigoted and small-minded as he is.</ref> This is somewhat at odds with the views of the majority of the commenters who are more centre-left on [[economic]] issues.

Even so, the site does still attract its share of [[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 gay people from marriage could be downvoted and told they were being "[[tone troll|arrogant]]".<ref group=note>Fortunately, this has been rectified since the comments section (and Cracked itself) took a much more pro-gay rights attitude. However claims in the comments section that Democrats are "just as bad" or anti-science as the [[GOP]] are still very common.</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>[https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-dumb-celebrities-who-are-way-smarter-than-you-think/ Cognitive dissonance alert!]</ref> They have since reversed this stance after the green coffee pill scandal.) 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]]. It's been known to cite heavily if not completely Professor Wikipedia for some articles, especially history involved ones. So when you click on '5 Totally GROSS Things People Ate In 1700', be ready with a cup of salt.<ref group=note>Cracked articles generally lack any citations more rigorous than embedded Wikipedia links... for the most part.</ref>

Additionally, the [[advertising|ad]]s 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 [[diploma mill|disreputable online "universities"]], buy shirts with outdated memes, or purchase [[aluminum]] [[mall ninja|"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.

Cracked, being a comedy site first and foremost, isn't exactly the most factual site on the web either: some of their articles, such as the one about the N-Gage gaming cellphone by [[Finland|Finnish]] electronics giant {{wpl|Nokia}} being supposedly designed around the "Goatse" shock site{{efn|Don't even bother looking that one up, I tell you.}} with the keypad on the sides of the phone forming the "fingers" and the screen in the middle as the outstretched "anus",<ref>{{Cite web |last=Svn |first=Tiago |date=2022-06-18 |title=Nokia's Failed Gaming Console Was Designed To Look Like The World's Worst Meme |url=https://www.cracked.com/article_34309_nokias-failed-gaming-console-was-designed-to-look-like-goatse-the-worlds-worst-meme.html |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=Cracked.com |language=en}}</ref> are based off unsubstantiated rumours. It was derived from a {{wpl|Something Awful}} forum post by a user who claims to have worked with a Nokia engineer back in the early 2000s, further claiming that the designers came up with the Goatse prototype to spite at the Nokia upper management who kept on rejecting their proposed designs for the then-upcoming gaming phone; according to them, the goatse-based design was somehow approved without the Nokia executives catching on with what amounts to a cruel prank at the company's expense.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191018173814/https://twitter.com/cooperlund/status/1185243122210656261 Boo-per Lund on Twitter]</ref> However, no other substantial evidence could be found to back up such a claim,<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/theyknew/comments/1bg706z/gaotse_ngage/ Gaotse n-gage]</ref> and it may very well be a rather dirty and immature case of [[pareidolia]] or an [[urban legend]] at best. At any rate, the N-Gage (and its Xbox Live-esque successor N-Gage 2.0) proved to be a critical and commercial failure, which may have lent at least some credence to the Goatse urban legend.

Recently, the site has been accused of supplementing actual content with ads disguised as their usual list articles, with the same type of clickbaity title. This is a sensible critique in Cracked's business practices, even if justified due to a lower viewership. Not-so-rationally, recent critique has been directed at about every one of their political articles even remotely to the left of [[Donald Trump]]. Next time you read a political article, scroll down to the comments. They're usually hilarious, accusing Cracked of selling out to the liberal/leftist/SJW/Cultural Marxist media. More recently, Cracked received criticism for breaking their comments section, the site's biggest draw for some, with no apparent plans to ever fix it.  Then charging a subscription just to vote on comments.  Then firing its veteran staff for undisclosed reasons, you know, the ones that draw people to the site in the first place.  We'll see how long it lasts...

==4 Insane Articles You Should Also Read==
*[[Encyclopedia Dramatica]] - If Cracked.com is the moderately bright star quarterback with a B average, this website is its [[Argumentum ad cellarium|cat-skins-drying-in-the-woodshed]] little brother burning with jealousy.
*[[Monkeysphere]] - Coined by David Wong.
*[[MythBusters]] - If you want a little less rigor in your skepticism.
*[[Snopes]] - If you want a little more rigor in your skepticism.

==4 Mindblowing Memes That Are In Every Cracked List==
*[[Thomas Edison]] - While the real-life Edison ''was'' kind of a dick, Cracked.com puffs up his villainy to a hilarious extent.
**See also: [[Nikola Tesla]], Cracked.com's Prospero to Edison's Antonio  
*[[Theodore Roosevelt]] - Cracked.com loves Roosevelt almost as much as it hates Thomas Edison. (At least it's not [[Andrew Jackson]].)
*[[Zombies]]
*Spiders - They're fucking evil.

==5 Cracked Lists That Are Totally Awesome==
*[https://www.cracked.com/article_17341_5-terrifying-bastardizations-wikipedia-model.html 5 Terrifying Bastardizations of the Wikipedia Model] - [[Conservapedia]] is the first entry, what did you expect? Oh, and [[Metapedia]] is at the top of the list... and they put the article on their front page under the mistaken belief it was praising them. (They thought that they had been named "#1 Alternative Encyclopedia.") [[Encyclopædia Dramatica]] is also on the list.
*[https://www.cracked.com/article_18553_5-cheap-magic-tricks-behind-every-psychic.html 5 Cheap Magic Tricks Behind Every Psychic]
*[https://www.cracked.com/article_17240_7-retarded-tax-evasion-schemes-people-are-actually-trying.html 7 Idiotic Tax Evasion Schemes People Are Actually Trying]
*[https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-pro-gay-marriage-arguments-fighting-with-crazy-people/ 6 Pro-Gay Marriage Arguments For Fighting With Crazy People]
*[https://www.cracked.com/blog/3-reasons-the-ground-zero-mosque-debate-makes-no-sense/ 3 Reasons the Ground Zero Mosque Debate Makes No Sense]

==5 Notes That Will Shock You==
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==11 Amazing References That Completely Support Our Assertions==
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Categories: Parodists, Websites