NEW YORK—Hailed by members of the online community as “a groundbreaking and radical new voice,” blogger Charles Edo has taken the internet by storm in recent weeks with a series of posts in which he conveys his opinions using the rhetorical device of sarcasm, sources reported Thursday.
Astounded readers of Edo’s Tumblr blog reported that the 26-year-old has found a way to write about both politics and popular culture with a sarcastic tone, in the process creating an entirely unique style of commentary never before observed in the blogosphere.
“A couple weeks ago he posted this thing saying he really loved the Dexter series finale, but it was weird—he kept calling the episode ‘great’ while detailing all of its flaws,” said reader Ryan Zalch, explaining his initial puzzlement with Edo’s sarcasm. “Then suddenly it hit me: This guy didn’t actually like the show at all. Somehow, he was writing the literal opposite of what he meant, going way over-the-top with what seemed like praise to express his hatred.”
“It’s this whole new way of conveying ideas about something,” Zalch added. “It’s confusing at first, but once you understand how it works, it’s incredibly impressive.”
According to sources, Edo’s most popular blog posts—which include “7 Reasons Robin Thicke Is The Greatest Artist Of His Generation,” “Thanks, I Didn’t Want Health Insurance Anyway,” and “Rape Is Always Hilarious”—all employ the same subtle, highly innovative technique, which inevitably catches visitors to his site off-guard.
Last month, a 400-word post about Fall Fashion Week filled with gushing, effusive language reportedly left many readers with their heads spinning: Edo’s tongue-in-cheek approach was so unfamiliar to them that most had to read the piece through two or three times before they realized the author’s enthusiasm was, in fact, completely feigned.
Internet experts have declared that Edo’s ability to use sarcasm to hide meaning “between the lines” is nothing short of revolutionary.
“How on earth did he ever come up with the idea to start writing in this voice—and on the web, of all places?” said Laura Hudson, culture and entertainment editor of Wired.com. “That’s the question everyone is asking right now. We’d never seen anything like it until this guy came along. There’s even a certain tone in his work that’s almost kind of snarky, you know? And that kind of thing could become a real game-changer for voices on the internet.”
“This is a blogger who is showing us what can be done with the medium,” Hudson added. “It’s truly visionary stuff.”
At present, Edo’s ability to send shockwaves through the internet shows no signs of letting up, with the online community reportedly reeling from his current series of posts on the budget stalemate in Washington, the latest of which is titled, “That’s Okay, It’s Not Like The Government Does Anything Useful.”
“I don’t see why shutting down the government is such a big deal anyway,” Edo’s post reads in part, a statement that readers should be advised not to take at face value, for it in fact represents the opposite of the author’s true opinion. “I heard there are some mothers who aren’t getting the vouchers they need to buy baby formula, and I think that’s great. Just great. Do you know what’s even better? The fact that military families aren’t getting benefits when a loved one dies in Afghanistan. Made my day when I heard that.”
Experts agreed Edo’s sarcastic sensibility has caused the online world its greatest shock since 2010, when everything was thrown into upheaval by a blogger who was especially pointed and sassy.