'Here comes the fun police': Vox ties 'Elf on the Shelf' to the NSA

The smartest thinkers, asking the toughest questions have a new target for their revolutionary explainer journalism, The Elf on the Shelf:

The Elf on the Shelf is the greatest fraud ever pulled on children http://t.co/jTQrZ0uoFA pic.twitter.com/mda6cDS0qx

— Vox (@voxdotcom) December 10, 2014

Oh come on, Vox! Really???

And the elf is not only a fraud to the explainers at Vox, but its popularity is somehow an extension of America’s “surveillance culture”:

"What can the elf teach us about surveillance culture?" Important questions from @Voxdotcom: http://t.co/cIwRazMqMW

— marion teniade (@furiousstyles21) December 10, 2014

PS kind of hysterical that @voxdotcom's @mckinneykelsey managed to weave the NSA into her elf on the shelf story. http://t.co/10aUmec2lI

— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) December 10, 2014

"If you've been waiting for the right moment to tell your kids about the NSA's warrantless wiretapping… " http://t.co/IDquY8zf7v

— Allison Rockey (@AllisonRockey) December 10, 2014

https://twitter.com/brianwperry/status/542684893256626177

At least Vox does mention that Santa is behind the elf’s surveillance anyway. Maybe as a follow-up article Vox can ask if our “surveillance culture” actually started with Santa?

Recommended

‘Magic Bullets! Part Deux:’ The New York Times Doubles Down in X-ray Controversy

Aaron Walker

Advertisement

Oh, and we just can’t let an Elf on the Shelf post go by without re-linking to this hilarious Photoshop from 2013:

@GayPatriot pic.twitter.com/sN7KMOrjws

— Covey Wan Kenobi (@MattinBoise) December 17, 2013

Ha!

Related:

Twitchy coverage of Vox.

‘Priceless’ (and creepy): ‘Smarmy Carney’ helps Obama embrace ‘Elf on the Shelf’ tradition [Photoshop]