Michael Falk (The Onion)

Michael Falk

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Portrayed by	John Cariani
Appears in
Debut	Autistic Reporter Covers Gathering Of Crying People
Year	2011

Michael Falk is a fictional reporter for the satirical news company The Onion.

Michael Falk visibly perks up when learning about rigid prison routines.

Autism

Michael speaks in a fast-paced, monotone voice with atypical inflection. He tends to avoid eye contact. When reporting on news, he ignores the emotional aspect and focuses more on aspects that are closer to his own world, such as routines in prison or trying to make sense of why it's sad when American soldiers die but not when Taliban soldiers die. His literal-mindedness leads to out-of-the-box conclusions.

He has an interest in vehicles - when reporting on a train accident, he is happy to learn that the train is unharmed, and after reporting on a funeral, states that it is a happy day because he saw 3 red cars.

Reception

The character has received mixed to positive reviews from autistic people, with many finding it amusing and some taking offense.

Video list

• Autistic Reporter Covers Gathering Of Crying People
• Autistic Reporter: Train Thankfully Unharmed In Crash That Killed One Man
• Autistic Reporter, Michael Falk, Enchanted By Prison's Rigid Routine
• Four American Troops Tragically Killed Along With 23 Afghanis
• Search Crews Continue To Look For Obviously Dead Hikers

Trivia

• Michael has a brother named Robert, who lives in Michigan and is very good at Jenga.