Chinese newspaper falls for 'sexiest man alive' Kim Jong-un spoof

North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un was officially named the newspaper's Sexiest Man Alive for 2012 Credit: Reuters/KCNA KCNA

The online version of China's Communist Party newspaper appears to have fallen for a spoof report by The Onion naming North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un as the sexiest man alive, not realising it was a satire.

The People's Daily ran a 55-page photo spread on its website on Tuesday under the headline "North Korea's top leader named The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive for 2012". Quoting The Onion's spoof report, the Chinese paper wrote:

The 55-page special feature, which included dozens of pictures of the dictator in different poses, included quotes from Onion Style and Entertainment editor Marissa Blake-Zweibel, who applauded his 'macho' style:

The People's Daily piece quoted The Onion's praise of the North Korean leader. Credit: Reuters / Petar Kujundzic

Last year the accolade went to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

An online editor for the People's Daily said the photo spread had been removed:

The editor, who would not give his name, said the news was picked up from China's state-run Guangming Daily website.

While the People's Daily item was up, The Onion updated the story to post a link to the spread and said: