Y356: Yes Men

Wonderful spoof recently.
Headline: Troops To Return Immediately
By Jude Shinbin
Published: July 4th, 2009

New York City woke up this morning to find that some committed satirists had delivered unto them a remarkably well-rendered facsimile of the New York Times, filled with earnest and hopeful headlines from the future -- specifically July 4, 2009 -- in which the Iraq War is over, Bush is indicted for treason, and columnist Thomas Friedman has confessed: "I have no business holding a pen, at least with intent to write." According to Editor & Publisher, these fake copies of the NYT were distributed nationwide.

Gawker has followed the trail of intelligence and concluded that the parody is the work of The Yes Men -- high-concept anti-consumerist pranksters whose work in the service of humanity is documented in their 2003 self-titled movie. Their basic stock in trade is to pose as corporate or government spokespersons, gain access to high-profile events, "make shocking denigrating comments about workers and consumers, and then point out what appears to be a lack of shock or anger in the response to their prank." Wikipedia documents many of their successful exploits.

Those of you who were unable to enjoy a print copy of the parody may head to their exacting and lovingly recreated parody of the Times' website, which contains the same content.

The hoax site is worth checking out. The graphics, the columns – all funny. One of my favorites was the Tom Friedman opinion piece,

The End of the Experts?
The sudden outbreak of peace in Iraq has made me realize, among other things, one incontestable fact: I have no business holding a pen, at least with intent to write.

Some of these other images give you the idea of this wonderfully fabricated world.

I saw a documentary on the Yes Men several years ago. If you haven’t seen one, it is time to rent. These guys are brilliant. Maybe under the Obama administration we will see more creative performance art, protest actions and music.

I am sick to death of fear and hate. More joy and laughter please.