The Onion's 'ClickHole' Opens, Prepares to Swallow the Internet

 By 
Jason Abbruzzese
 on 
The Onion's 'ClickHole' Opens, Prepares to Swallow the Internet
ClickHole, the new viral media parody site from The Onion, is set to launch on Thursday. Credit: Mashable composite. iStock, Dmitry Naumov

Rest your fingers -- they're going to be doing a whole lot of clicking.

ClickHole, the viral parody site from The Onion, launched on Thursday. The site skewers digital media in much the same way it lampoons traditional print media. It includes all the classic viral media formats -- listicles, quizzes and even some "sponsored" content.

[seealso slug=http://sale-online.click/2013/12/17/social-media-hoaxes-2013/%5D%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EClickHole's announcement made clear that the site has one priority: to generate traffic at all costs. "We strive to make sure that all of our content panders to and misleads our readers just enough to make it go viral," the release read. The site was first announced at The Onion's NewFronts event in April.

The site announced that it plans to maintain 854,640 social media accounts and will be viewable on desktop, tablet and mobile devices.

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ClickHole will bring in revenue through advertising, including a partnership with Jack Link's Beef Jerky, which takes a prominent place on the site.

Onion Inc. is comprised of satirical news site The Onion, entertainment and culture site The A.V. Club and the company's in-house advertising agency Onion Labs. ClickHole is the first new standalone site to launch under the umbrella of Onion Inc.

Among the first stories on the site: "Which Hungry Hungry Hippo Are you?" and "7 Pricks Who Defied The Odds And Didn't Go Into Finance."

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Credit: Screenshot/The ClickHole

ClickHole's Twitter feed has been warming up in the run-up to the site's launch. A few of our favorites:

#ClickFact: Reading ClickHole on your smartphone or tablet extends its battery life.— ClickHole (@ClickHole) June 10, 2014

Please join us in a moment of silence for the 8,000 men and women who died making @ClickHole.— ClickHole (@ClickHole) June 10, 2014

#ClickFact: The rights to ClickHole's story have already been sold to @Miramax. Expect a feature film by 2018. Find out more on Thursday.— ClickHole (@ClickHole) June 11, 2014

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