In classic The Onion fashion, it is snarky - one subheading reads "It Should Be Obvious That Parodists Cannot Be Prosecuted For Telling A Joke With A Straight Face" - and self-referential - it says the story sounds like a headline right out of The Onion, "albeit one that's considerably less amusing because its subjects are real." The document quickly started making the rounds on social media and in straight news headlines, both for its unusual form of intervention - this is its first such legal filing - and trademark humorous approach to a serious topic. "The Onion cannot stand idly by in the face of a ruling that threatens to disembowel a form of rhetoric that has existed for millennia, that is particularly potent in the realm of political debate, and that, purely incidentally, forms the basis of The Onion's writers' paychecks," it reads. It also wants "the rights of the people vindicated, and various historical wrongs remedied," by the way. The Onion's brief urges the Supreme Court to take up the case and rule in Novak's favor. Circuit Court of Appeals which, in this instance, sided with the police officers. None of this would work if it were preceded by a disclaimer, the brief argues, noting that most courts have historically shared this view - except for the 6th U.S. It goes on to defend the purpose and power of parody in society before explaining that successful satire comes from being realistic enough that it initially tricks readers into believing one thing, only to make them "laugh at their own gullibility when they realize that they've fallen victim to one of the oldest tricks in the history of rhetoric." "Americans can be put in jail for poking fun at the government? This was a surprise to America's Finest News Source and an uncomfortable learning experience for its editorial team," the brief opens. The 23-page amicus brief was filed on Monday in support of Anthony Novak, who is asking the Supreme Court to take up his civil rights lawsuit against the police officers who arrested and prosecuted him for creating a parody Facebook page of their department ( more on that here). It's because the publication has gotten involved directly, submitting a brief to the Supreme Court in defense of parody itself. The long-running First Amendment case of an Ohio man is suddenly getting a lot of attention, thanks to the satirical news site The Onion.Īnd that's not because it's been spoofed.
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