this post was submitted on 08 Feb 2026
534 points (89.6% liked)
Not The Onion
20256 readers
2344 users here now
Welcome
We're not The Onion! Not affiliated with them in any way! Not operated by them in any way! All the news here is real!
The Rules
Posts must be:
- Links to news stories from...
- ...credible sources, with...
- ...their original headlines, that...
- ...would make people who see the headline think, “That has got to be a story from The Onion, America’s Finest News Source.”
Please also avoid duplicates.
Comments and post content must abide by the server rules for Lemmy.world and generally abstain from trollish, bigoted, or otherwise disruptive behavior that makes this community less fun for everyone.
And that’s basically it!
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Functionally illiterate moron insists he's "Too smart to read."
Functionally illiterate moron, sex trafficker and rapist insists he's "Too smart to read."
Is there any proof that he can read?
Good catch.
21% of the U.S. is illiterate, with 54% topping out at a 6th grade reading level. Meaning 75% of the U.S. reads at a middle school level, at best... So this clown trying to convince people he's in the 25% of folks able to read above a 6th grade level is legitimately hilarious!
MIddle school level is a very generous on the current generation in grade school. MATH is equally as bad english, 9-10th grade level at best as a hs graduate. alot of the problems with english and math in k-12 it is never enforced to learn, they expect you to know those skills at those level some how when you reach particular grade.
And this grifting fuck knows that, because that 75% is exactly who he is trying to tap into by appealing to their ignorance.
21% of the US adults or are children included in that? I'd love to see where you're getting these stats too.
That's just for adults, for children the data ranks the States against one another rather than giving an average illiteracy percentage like with adults. Here's a top tier link on the topic: https://www.thinkimpact.com/literacy-statistics
Original source: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/do-adults-have-the-skills-they-need-to-thrive-in-a-changing-world_b263dc5d-en/full-report.html
Another review of the source material for good measure: https://www.crossrivertherapy.com/research/literacy-statistics
I've seen this stat floated a thousand times, from the same single source.
I've yet to have anyone lay out what 8th grade reading level statement 54% of the population can't understand.
It’s worth noting that the editorial standards set for most news outlets are at the 6th grade reading level.
Any higher and news outlets start to severely limit their potential audience.
Checking out readability formulas, like the Flesch‑Kincaid grade level formula, should help to clear things up a bit. But in general, a 6th grade reading level is where concrete language, moderate sentence length, and single step reasoning all align. Adding abstract vocab, multiple embedded clauses, or deep cultural references push text above a 6th grade level.