Was The eXile satire, or not?
When the Kremlin shut The eXile down in 2008, it didn’t care if The eXile was satirical or not—satire is not a legal defense in Putin’s Russia. Here in the USA, satire does matter, which is why so many social media trolls upset by our America journalism have tried to claim that The eXile was not satirical, and therefore, our outrageous satirical writings should be judged and denounced as “non-fiction” “autobiographical” “memoirs” and the like.
They’re lying of course. But in case you’re not sure whom to believe, here’s a short list we compiled of those who described The eXile as it was intended:
“The eXile routinely criticized both the Kremlin and the West, using strong and irreverent language, according to local and international press reports. The paper was known for its political satire, which often tackled serious issues such as corruption, crime and poverty.”
—Committee To Protect Journalists, “English-language paper closes because of state harassment”
“an English-language satire newspaper called the EXILE”
“The eXile, a satire and politics newspaper based in Moscow”
“On June 5, four officials from the Federal Service for Mass Media conducted an unscheduled audit of The eXile, a raunchy English-language satirical newspaper.”
—US Embassy, Moscow (“Confidential” WikiLeaks cable)
“the Moscow-based satirical bi-weekly The eXile”
“the satirical newspaper The eXile”
“The eXile, a satire and politics newspaper based in Moscow”
“The eXile was a mix of satire and real investigative journalism, media commentary and criticism”
“No person or institution is spared from their [The eXile’s] razor sharp satiric viewpoint.”
—Book jacket description, “The eXile: Sex, Drugs and Libel in the New Russia”
“die englischsprachige Moskauer Zeitung ‘The eXile’… ist berühmt wie berüchtigt für seine politisch inkorrekte Satire und seine derbe Sprache.”
“Moscow’s satirical paper faces closure”
“eXile (satire)”
(For those interested in knowing more, Vanity Fair published a big eulogy to The eXile in 2010.)
Read more: journalism, satire, the exile, Team eXiled, eXiled Alert!
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