The Poke
 |
|
| URL | http://www.thepoke.co.uk/ |
|---|---|
| Type of site | Comedy |
| Launched | 2002 |
| Current status | Active |
The Poke is British satirical website. It was launched in 2002 as a fanzine distributed at the Edinburgh Festival and independent music stores.[1] The website is known for producing viral videos, which are often autotune edits of British current affairs.[2]
Contents |
History [edit]
The Poke began as a fanzine with a circulation of 50,000 that was sold in music shops across the United Kingdom and at the annual Edinburgh Festival. Later becoming an internet-only publication, the website gained some popularity when it was featured as a 'Internet Pick Of The Week' on The Guardian website, in which it was compared to a "a British version of The Onion crossed with Private Eye".[3] The site was named 'Website of the day' by pocket-lint.com on 19 January 2012.[4]
The red-top look of the site means there have been cases of the sites fictional, parodical news stories being misinterpreted as real news items. In January 2012, a number of French news organisations including Le Parisien and L’Express reported on an August 2011 article by The Poke about a BBC Sign language interpreter being fired from her job for 'fabricating news' as a genuine story. French radio broadcasters RTL and France Info also reported the story as real, and television broadcaster Canal + featuring the fictitous 'scandal' on an evening news programme.[5]
Nick Clegg apology song [edit]
An autotuned remix uploaded in September 2012 to YouTube of Nick Clegg's apology over going back on his promise to oppose a rise in tuition fees saw the website rise to national publicity, with the video becoming an internet phenomenon. Following a request by the website, Clegg allowed the song to be released as a single on iTunes, provided that all proceeds were donated to the Sheffield Children's Hospital.[6] The track was released on Friday 21 September, and entered the weekly UK Singles Chart at number 136 two days later.[7]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "The Poke". The Poke. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- ^ "British Comedy Guide - Website Links". Comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- ^ Johnny Dee. "Internet picks of the week | Technology". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- ^ "WEBSITE OF THE DAY: The Poke". 2012-01-19.
- ^ "fools France". The Poke. 2012-01-20. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- ^ "Nick Clegg's musical tuition fee apology goes viral". Telegraph. 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- ^ "Gangnam Style fails to top UK singles chart". 2012-09-23.
