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(CNN) -- Add Iran's news agency to the long list of those hoodwinked by the satire of The Onion.

Iran's semi-official Fars
News Agency published a story Friday claiming that a Gallup poll found
that rural white Americans prefer Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
over President Barack Obama.

Such a poll would indeed be big news in Iran (and the United States) -- if it were true.

But the source was The Onion, the publication that presents the outlandish as real news.

Its serious tone fools many who are new to the lampoons. Onion yarns have tricked news outlets in the U.S. and overseas.

What sets Fars apart from others, however, is that the agency published the Onion story as if it were its own.

Fars News Agency used the story verbatim, giving the same headline: "Gallup Poll: Rural Whites Prefer Ahmadinejad To Obama"

Fars also took all the credit at the get-go:

"TEHRAN (FNA) --
According to the results of a Gallup poll released Monday, the
overwhelming majority of rural white Americans said they would ra... >>>