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(fake) New York Post: We're Screwed
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With headlines such as Pentagon top brass warn: Act now, or pay later with lives and Congress to New York: Swim for it and Flopenhagen: Will things go rotten in the State of Denmark, the New York Post's Special Climate Edition combines humor with the current state of the climate debate.
The paper is a fake and is put out by the Yes Men, who were responsible earlier this summer for the fake New York Times that announced 'The Iraq War Ends' and a return to a SANE economy, among other falsities. (here is the Times' reaction)
The Yes Men seem to be a part of a larger trend going on in America where activists are using satire to bring attention to some of society's most pressing issues. John Stewart and Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central, as well as SNL's Weekend Update, have been using this tactic in relation to nightly news for years, but less known (and equally humorous) groups have been springing up employing the same tactic.
In the same spirit of the group Billionaires for Wealthcare, the Yes Men spend their time "Impersonating big-time criminals in order to publicly humiliate them. Targets are leaders and big corporations who put profits ahead of everything else", according to their website.
Now, whether the Yes Men are using satire in order to publicly humiliate political leaders for failing to take action, or businesses for profiting from off of environmental collapse and human suffering, or the general public for not demanding more be done on their behalf is left up for debate; but the central message that information (especially on touchy topics) is better received by audiences when humor is used to relate fearful topics.
The Gothamist reports that "the fake Post is timed to coincide with a meeting of world leaders to discuss climate change at the U.N. Tuesday"; but "the Yes Men emphasize that while their edition of the Post is a hoax, all the facts in the tabloid are accurate".
The paper's central message is not necessarily funny. For example, the article called 'Carbon counter' counts NYers as fools tries to expose the larger greenwashing trend that has dominated the climate change corporate movement to date. The story is about Deutsche Bank and how they have "erected a giant seven-story carbon counter right near Penn Station that’s supposed to let you know how much Deutsche Bank cares about global warming. Yet the Post has learned that Deutsche Bank is not only financing airlines, coal mines, and oil companies, they’re now buying large quantities of actual coal". Pieces like Bon voyage tourism industry and So long, Sauvignon attempt to bring attention to some luxuries that privileged classes might miss if they continue to fail to act on the climate issue. Justin's no putts brings attention to the water issue and shows a viable way for celebrities or athletes to contribute to solving crises in their own arenas. The coal'd hard truth: they get the mine, we get the shaft addresses the issue of pollution subsidies. Nuclear financial meltdown brings the nuclear issue to light.
The Yes Men have reported that they are handing out nearly a million copies of the paper today ahead of the climate meeting tomorrow. The timing of the paper's release is no doubt intended to make New Yorkers aware of the UN's climate meeting tomorrow and, hopefully, spur action to be taken by the leaders of the most powerful nations on earth.
As for the truth of the reporting in the paper itself, "everything in it is 100% true, with all facts carefully checked by a team of editors and climate change experts", the Yes Men group said.
NBC New York was left wondering, "Carefully checked facts? Wait, that doesn't sound like the Post at all!"
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