On mocking

I think that would accurately describe the situation if a) it was directed mainly at members of the group (whatever the group is), and b) there was usually some obvious attempt to be funny.

On a), it looks to me like it usually goes "down" the (semi-official) hierarchy, sometimes "sideways", but rarely up.

On b), the Quotes of the Week will indeed give some playful examples. But in a lot of cases the writer sounds genuinely angry and doesn't appear to be making much of an attempt to be funny.