NY Times: 12th Nov 2008 - US Iraq Massacre is OVER!
Download the SPECIAL EDITION here:
http://www.nytimes-se.com/nytse/wp-content/uploads/NYTimes-SE_spreads.pdf 10mBdownload videos: http://www.nytimes-se.com/2009/07/04/video/
Liberal Pranksters Hand Out Times Spoof
A fake copy of The Times was being handed out to commuters at subway stations in the city this morning.Updated, 11:20 a.m. | Sorry, folks, the paper isn’t free. And the Iraq war isn’t over, at least not yet.
In an elaborate hoax, pranksters distributed thousands of free copies of a spoof edition of The New York Times on Wednesday morning at busy subway stations around the city, including Grand Central Terminal, Washington and Union Squares, the 14th and 23rd Street stations along Eighth Avenue, and Pacific Street in Brooklyn, among others.
The spurious 14-page papers — with a headline “IRAQ WAR ENDS” — surprised commuters, many of whom took the free copies thinking they were legitimate.
The paper is dated July 4, 2009, and imagines a liberal utopia of national health care, a rebuilt economy, progressive taxation, a national oil fund to study climate change, and other goals of progressive politics.
The hoax was accompanied by a Web site that mimics the look of The Times’s real Web site. A page of the spoof site contained links to dozens of progressive organizations, which were also listed in the print edition.
(A headline in the fake business section declares: “Public Relations Industry Forecasts a Series of Massive Layoffs.” Uh, sure.)
Gawker is reporting that the prank looks like the work of the liberal pranksters known as the Yes Men, who were the subject of a 2004 documentary film.
The Yes Men homepage
Later on Wednesday morning, the Yes Men issued a statement claiming credit for the prank. The statement said, in part:
In an elaborate operation six months in the planning, 1.2 million papers were printed at six different presses and driven to prearranged pickup locations, where thousands of volunteers stood ready to pass them out on the street.
Catherine J. Mathis, a Times spokeswoman, said: “This is obviously a fake issue of The Times. We are in the process of finding out more about it.”
Fake New York Times Declares Iraq War Over! Here's Who Did It
The Iraq War is over, according to the fake New York Times! This morning a cadre of volunteers has fanned out across New York City to pass out a remarkably good, faux-copy of the Times dated July 4, 2009. They've even set up an entire website with all of the liberal fantasy headlines. Universities to be free! Bike paths to be expanded! Thomas Friedman to resign, praise the Unitarian Jesus! It's not funny like The Onion, but obviously a lot of work went into this. Now we play "Who did it?" We already know!:
We have done some sleuthing based on intelligence received yesterday. First of all, this stunt needed a lot of volunteers to distribute the papers. They were rallied online, via BecauseWeWantit.org.
This email went out to the collaborators last night:
TONIGHT - and especially, TOMORROW MORNING (WEDNESDAY) - a year of work
involving dozens of collaborators comes to a head. Here's the schedule:** TOMORROW (WEDNESDAY) MORNING, 7am-11am: **
Take a break in your commute to pick up materials, then distribute them
on the rest of your commute. (Or if you want to come back and refill,
fantastic.)Look for the white UHaul vans near:
- UNION SQUARE: probably near the northwest corner of Union Square Park
- COLUMBUS CIRCLE: probably on 56th St. between 8th and 9th Ave.
- GRAND CENTRAL: probably on 43rd St. between Vanderbilt and Madison,
near west entrance of Grand Central Station.
- PENN STATION: probably on 33rd St. between 6th and 7th Ave., just NE of
Penn StationLocations will be confirmed and updated by text alert (sign up at
http://becausewewantit.org) and email around 7am tomorrow.** Also, TONIGHT, 5pm-8pm (if time is tight tomorrow or you just can't wait): **
Look for a white UHaul van near the NORTHWEST CORNER OF UNION SQUARE
PARK. You'll pick up the materials and KEEP THEM SECRET until TOMORROW
MORNING, when you can distribute them wherever you happen to be, or on
your commute.WATCH TEXT ALERTS FOR ANY LOCATION CHANGES (sign up at
http://becausewewantit.org). We'll also send another email around 5pm.** THINGS TO BRING: **
- A bag that can hold a big bundle of printed matter - as much as you
can carry. Think big canvas bags, big backpacks, rolling carts, etc.
- Warm clothes
- Friends (or we will team you up)What will happen:
Something cool! You'll receive materials and instructions when you
arrive. NOTE: YOU DON'T KNOW WHO DID THIS. We want to maintain maximum
mystery around this, for as long as possible - at least for a couple of
days.Tomorrow morning we'll also have an online viral campaign - a quick
click before you take off for work can make a big difference!Thank you again for volunteering your time and energy!
See you soon,
The many secret people YOU DO NOT KNOW
BUT: The email address that sent out this message was linked to the site of The Yes Men, longtime liberal prank group that has been doing things just as complex and finely tuned as this for years. The Yes Men run the Because We Want It site, through which they set up this prank. They wanted to be anonymous for a while allegedly, but too late.
Well done, sirs. We hope the Times doesn't sue you for copyright violations.
====================
When I received one this morning I was surprised at first, and then I looked at the date: July 4, 2009 and knew it was a hoax.
Ah well. It will be nice when it comes true and a very clever idea. Alot of times when you put an idea out in the open it has a chance to come true.
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I LOVED this paper - EVERY headline is what I hope to be reading soon!!!
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Other articles include:
“Maximum Wage Law Succeeds”
“Health Insurance Act Clears House”
“Nationalized Oil to Fund Climate Control Efforts”
“Court Indicts Bush on High Treason Charge”
United Nations Unanimously Passes Weapons Ban”
“All Public Universities to be Free”
and my favorite, “Bicycle Lanes Inaugurated”
The fake ads are really good too, including ones from Exxon, McDonald’s, and even a Dr. Z ad that you see on subways. Note…the only thing about Obama is an ad, no articles as this took a real long time to make.
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What a brilliant prank! It looks to me like those of those headlines are what the majority of Americans want. I’m all for it. Congrats whoever did it!
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I received my copy in Union Square- there is an ad from DeBeers promising the creation and fitting of a prosthetic limb to an African child for every diamond sold between now and 2026. If only it were true!
What a clever prank, bravo!
=========
November 12, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SPECIAL TIMES EDITION BLANKETS U.S. CITIES, PROCLAIMS END TO WAR
* PDF: http://www.nytimes-se.com/pdf
* For video updates: http://www.nytimes-se.com/video
* Contact: mailto:writers@nytimes-se.com
Early this morning, commuters nationwide were delighted to find out
that while they were sleeping, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had
come to an end.
If, that is, they happened to read a "special edition" of today's
New York Times.
In an elaborate operation six months in the planning, 1.2 million
papers were printed at six different presses and driven to prearranged
pickup locations, where thousands of volunteers stood ready to pass
them out on the street.
Articles in the paper announce dozens of new initiatives including the
establishment of national health care, the abolition of corporate
lobbying, a maximum wage for C.E.O.s, and, of course, the end of the
war.
The paper, an exact replica of The New York Times, includes
International, National, New York, and Business sections, as well as
editorials, corrections, and a number of advertisements, including a
recall notice for all cars that run on gasoline. There is also a
timeline describing the gains brought about by eight months of
progressive support and pressure, culminating in President Obama's "Yes
we REALLY can" speech. (The paper is post-dated July 4, 2009.)
"It's all about how at this point, we need to push harder than ever,"
said Bertha Suttner, one of the newspaper's writers. "We've got to
make sure Obama and all the other Democrats do what we elected them to do. After eight, or maybe twenty-eight years of hell, we need to start
imagining heaven."
Not all readers reacted favorably. "The thing I disagree with is how
they did it," said Stuart Carlyle, who received a paper in Grand
Central Station while commuting to his Wall Street brokerage. "I'm all
for freedom of speech, but they should have started their own paper."
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