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A Distorted Mirror: Automatic, Real-Time Web Parodies

Posted by timothy on from the achieving-parody dept.

Citing the DMCA, the World Trade Organization complained to Verio, the upstream provider of parody site gatt.org, a site we've mentioned before which jabs at the aims and methods of GATT and the WTO. Verio notified domain holder Jonathan Prince of the complaint, and asked Prince to remove any copyrighted materials from the site. The site appears intact for now, but read on to learn about the interesting software the complaint has spawned -- perhaps this isn't what the WTO had in mind.

As Andrew Bichlbaum writes: "The WTO could well have stepped on a hornets' nest. To counter the attack, Gatt.org managers The Yes Men have released a piece of open-source 'parodyware' that will 'forever make this kind of censorship obsolete. ... Using this software, it takes five minutes to set up a convincing, personalized, evolving parody of the WTO.org website, or any other website of your choice ... All you need is a place to put it -- say, WTOO.org, WorldTradeOrg.com, whatever.'"

3 of 152 comments (clear)

  1. Big deal... by seldolivaw · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    The Onion has been using obviously machine-generated "parody" for years now. Nothing else can explain the lack of originality...

  2. IF I EVER... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    IF I EVER MEET YOU, I WILL KICK YOUR ASS



    Lameness filter encountered. Post aborted!

  3. Check out the www.microsoft.com parody site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait
    Imagine there was a linuxkernel.org which looked exactly like the REAL kernel.org but gave out kernels patched to provide root access on port 80.


    Never mind fakey little www.lynucks-colonel.org sites. There is a little web site called www.microsoft.com where you can download nasty "upgrades" to your system including a spyware package called Windows Media Player, a worm program that can wreck your hard disk called "Outlook", a patch called Windows XP that periodically drains your credit card and causes many programs not to work, and lots of other evil little programs that no self-respecting real web site would be cault providing.