RPT-Hoax NY Times newspaper declares end of Iraq war

RPT-Hoax NY Times newspaper declares end of Iraq war

www.reuters.com

RPT-Hoax NY Times newspaper declares end of Iraq war By Michelle Nichols
NEW YORK, Nov 12 (Reuters) - A group of pranksters handed out more than 1.2 million fake New York Times newspapers mainly in New York City and Los Angeles on Wednesday with a front page story declaring "Iraq War Ends."
The elaborate 14-page edition, dated July 4, 2009, is said to be the work of a group called the Yes Men, whose previous hoaxes include masquerading as World Trade Organization officials announcing they were disbanding the body.
"It is fake and we are looking into it," said New York Times (NYT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) spokeswoman Catherine Mathis.
A statement sent from a Web site set up for the fake edition, www.nytimes-se.com, said creating the newspaper took six months and that it was printed at six different presses and then given to thousands of volunteers to distribute.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Hm, interesting efforts to keep an important issue on America’s mind and in it's heart, since the war is no longer America’s number one issue. I know the economy is going to hell, but I think we need to make sure Obama fulfills his promise to end the Iraq war.

That seemed to be the hoaxer’s intentions. You might disagree with their actions but they gained a lot of attention didn’t they?

www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 12-11-2008 by rapinbatsisaltherage]

I just heard about this on the radio today, that's a pretty huge number right there, 1.2 million.

What I hadn't heard was that it was thought to be the work of the Yes Men, I read about them and saw one of their videos a while back, where one of them pretended to be a representative of Dow chemical, and promised compensation to those hurt in the Bhopal incident. That had me torn a little, I thought it was a great idea to really get that into the news and put pressure on Dow, but I also thought it was a little cruel to those affected who got their hopes up, then dashed.

Heard about it. This type of activism is much better than protest or violence.

What kind of organization has the funds (and means) to publish 1.2 million copies of fake newspapers - and distribute it?

The Yes Men

A genderless, loose-knit association of some 300 impostors worldwide who agree their way into the fortified compounds of commerce, ask questions
...
Impersonating big-time criminals in order to publicly humiliate them. Targets are leaders and big corporations who put profits ahead of everything else.

I hope all the vampire/alien type 'hoaxers' learn something from this. This is a hoax with a real purpose rather than just lame internet trolling.

I sincerely admire the culture jammers who work on this kind of scale.

reply to post by Merriman Weir


I agree this doesn’t seem to come from people who selfishly enjoy getting their kicks by wasting people’s time, not to mention those hoaxers are usually wasting their time as well. They should put all of their creativity to good use.

[edit on 13-11-2008 by rapinbatsisaltherage]

Originally posted by rapinbatsisaltherage
reply to post by Merriman Weir

 

I agree this doesn’t seem to come from people who selfishly enjoy getting their kicks by wasting people’s time, not to mention those hoaxers are usually wasting their time as well. They should put all of their creativity to good use.

[edit on 13-11-2008 by rapinbatsisaltherage]

Unfortunately, there lies the rub. The vast majority of internet trolls have no creativity at all; there's no skill, art or imagination in what they do. You could argue there's no balls in it either as hiding behind the anonymity of a computer screen hardly takes guts.

Actually having the gall to do something like this off-line is something else entirely, particularly if there's no safety net like 'machismo-driven violence' iused behind it either. It's funny how many guys who are 'hey, I'm just fooling with you!' type pranking in bars are always a notch away from raising their fists when they get called on it too.

Again, people like the Yes Men are something else. I've nothing but admiration for them.