Forum:SPIN.
A general idea in need of elaboration
I would like to form yet another covert organization... wait, I fucked that up now, by making it public. Anyway, anyone interested in contributing ideas to news-spinning practises, for easy satire, please leave a line here.
My "thoughts" so far
- a spin (PR, propaganda) think tank that has an aim. This aim has not yet been defined. Ideas welcome.
- the organization would provide outlines (no rules, just hints) for distorting news from the outside world. Believe or not, it is there.
- the aim for the organization could be something like denying there are martians among us, obviously backed by martians. Better ideas are hugely welcome, this is just a scatterblast. Idea is to invent a client (or clients, maybe easier) and work for them, well or badly, helped but not prohibited by the guidelines.
- logos, catch phrases, shit like that would give out the articles for quicker spotting.
- aim would be to have maybe dozens of articles written in the same vein, or at least with the organization logo on them.
- the point is to facilitate satirical writing and to make fun of propaganda at the same time, otherwise nothing rigid.
Other people's thoughts
I'll just add my sig here: -- Style 
Guide 10:39, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
- I like the idea, but it seems vague. Plus, why have an organization based upon giving people ideas? Isn't that the individual writer's job, first and foremost? —Unführer Guildy Ritter von Guildensternenstein 15:05, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
- I'm just aiming at better humour for half the price. The point is not to give anyone ready-made ideas, just to create a working joke version of any PR think tank guidelines. It doesn't matter that we don't know what they should be, let's just create our own. Let's take the Martians as our first client, to shake out some thoughts.
- any newspiece (in the real world) that might contain hints at Martians among us must be spinned so that the point is at least confused
- discredit anyone who claims to have seen Martians
- create further articles to promote the beneficial influence any visitor from space would have on Earth, if there were any, which there aren't.
- at some point it's bound to leak out that there indeed are Martians on Earth. Then we should report fake pro-Martian demonstrations and so forth, and claim they're here only as observers.
- when the Martians finally start buying up stuff and taking over vital bridgeheads for full-scale invasion, discredit those who claim this happens, accusing them of having an anti-Martian agenda
...and so forth. As I said the Martians bit is slightly too corny - well, depends on how it's handled of course, but better subjects tend to yield better articles. I suppose for a wider variety of stuff we could first map out stuff that actually gets reported, things that aren't controversial by themselves, but might be made to look controversial by some crackpot or other. We would then create the crackpot to act as our client, and would covertly promote their agenda in seemingly innocuous articles. It would be a bit more complicated than the "Sojourn"-type articles, but there could even be similarities, like some phrases to be repeated to mark the article as a product of the covert PR organisation.
Let's say we have as "clients" people who want to have cars that burn wood, like the first ones were, around 1800. The one without brakes, for instance. That would mark any ordinary vehicle-related newspiece ready to be spun by us, in favour of the supposedly superior ways they used to have back then. Or, we could have as clients people who strongly believe that houses should be made of rubber for improved water resistance. Then we could spin almost any newspiece concerning housing. The possibilities are practically limitless, and with some guidelines, we could help each other to simply write better articles easier. The more idiotic the idea we promoted, the more serious articles we could write. For instance, if the propaganda started with an original newspiece from the "world", as they call it now, we could first seek to discredit it in an article that links to the original. Then there would be a series of pro/con articles, sources, demonstrations, riots, TV show transcripts, interviews, all building up to a campaign for Rubber Houses Inc. I'll not go as far as to write a complete study case, I'm sure you get the idea. Note that not each "client" would have the same treatment - only as far as the idea stays funny in each case. There's still plenty of room for individual input since the guidelines would be just guidelines, and the aim of the article would be the main thing. The Spinster Initiative Association would just work as a springboard for anyone who wants to write but is at a loss with subjects, aim and/or style. It would be a practical "How to be funny and not just stupid". -- Style Guide 17:34, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
- I see. —Unführer Guildy Ritter von Guildensternenstein 19:22, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
You Spin me right round
Baby, like a record, baby, right round, round, round. -- Sir Mhaille 
(talk to me)
- Ah...Boy George's one hit wonder mate again. Marilyn Monroe-Manson. --
RomArtus*Imperator ® (Orate). 11:48, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
- Ah...Boy George's one hit wonder mate again. Marilyn Monroe-Manson. --
So, anyway...
That was basically the idea. What it now needs is filled-in details and a user page or such, to which we could then direct newbies or others who want to write but etc. I'll be away for a few weeks, probably, so feel free to derail this forum! Derailed forums are the heart of the Uncyclopedia I have been introduced to, and I would be sorely confused if nobody took the trouble. -- Style Guide 06:41, 8 July 2009 (UTC)