On November 12, 2008, tens of thousands of replica New York Times were distributed for free to the public. The paper featured "All the News We Hope to Print" and included 14 pages of “best case scenario” news from eight months in the future.
Because our ‘Special Edition’ was a physical newspaper it transported people to an alternate reality. For a few moments, readers hopes and dreams became real, tangible news. For about fifteen seconds readers would feel what it was like to live peacefully in a more equitable society. Then as they read more, enough clues would emerge that they’d figure out what was going on. Our goal wasn’t “trick” anyone, but to let them briefly experience a better world, then to tell them how to make it happen.
The paper was filled with utopian stories, but not only that, each story explained how it came to pass. The through-line in each case was that popular pressure from energized citizens had forced politicians to act.
We examined a real NY Times and rebuilt it from the ground up, ensuring our version matched exactly. We also created a website and made NYT newsie aprons for our volunteers (who didn’t know what they’d signed up for in advance) to wear when passing out ~100,000 copies.
Inspired by the NY Times Special Edition, the next year we followed it up with a fake version of another iconic NYC newspaper: The New York Post. The idea this time was to publish a Post with all 100% true news stories, written in the voice of the Post, but in a world where they decided to report on the climate crisis, rather than pretend it wasn’t happening.
Other than being Rupert Murdoch’s shameless, money-losing right-wing propaganda rag, the thing the NY Post is most known for is its pun-laden headlines and punchy populist prose. We employed that style, to convey the seriousness of the threat the city faces from climate change.
Unlike the fake NY Times, it was difficult to get people to accept a Special Edition NY Post. Even for free people were hesitant, whereas the Times flew out of our hands.
The Yes Men recreated the original NYT Special Edition a decade later, but this time in DC. We created a Washington Post Special Edition.
The Yes Men joined forces with fellow activists Code Pink for this one.
We explained how women-led actions had resulted in Trump fleeing office and Mike Pence was finishing his clipped term, in the shadow of America's worst presidency. I designed it to perfectly match a real WaPo and got it printed.
The Washington Post covered our fake quite well, as you can see in this video they produced.
