No Laughing Matter: Humor as a Means of Dissent in the Digital Era: The Case of Authoritarian Azerbaijan

Abstract: Oppositional political humor has a long history. With the growth of the Internet and social media, opposition groups can easily and affordably create and disseminate political humor, such as memes. This new capacity threatens authoritarian Azerbaijan and the regime severely punishes those who engage in online political humorous dissent, as the examples described in this article demonstrate. Interestingly, the regime has co-opted online political humorous content, especially memes, to achieve its own goals. Using Edward Schatz's "soft authoritarian tool kit" as a framework, we describe the humorous actions of the government. ********** Humor has long been a tool against oppression. From anti-Nazi comics (1) to the strategic use of humor as part of the Serbian Otpor movement in 2000 (2) to more recently in China, (3) Zimbabwe, (4) Syria, (5) and Egypt, (6) opposition groups have made humor a part of their platforms. Cartoons, videos, and puppets are just a few examples of how opposition groups have used humor as a tool. While some, like Benton, (7) argue that jokes are only revolutions metaphorically, as they are simply moral victories, there is evidence that humor can make a difference in mobilization and dissent. In the digital era, where content can easily and cheaply be created and distributed, humorous dissent may play an even more important role for the opposition. This article will first give conceptual definitions and illustrate the use of humorous political user-generated content for dissent in Azerbaijan, followed by the government's response with both its punishment of those who engage in digital dissent as well as the government's own humorous political digital content that attacks the opposition. Further, Azerbaijan provides an important case study of humorous political digital content because it is an authoritarian state in which the Internet is almost the exclusive platform for dissent. Conceptual Definitions Humor Humorous content is any message that is delivered with the intention to be funny. At an individual level, people use humor as an expression of superiority, to relieve tension, and to deal with incongruity. But humor also has a social function--for example, creating identity or creating a sense of control. (8) Political Humor Political humor is a "crucial part of society's political discourse. " (9) Moreover, political humor can attract citizens who are not interested in politics. (10) Evidence shows that consumption of political humor can increase political attention and learning, especially for younger and less educated individuals. (11) People process humorous political messages differently than they do serious ones, with less scrutiny. (12) Political humor does have an effect: the outcome of consumption of political humor is sometimes increased feelings of political efficacy; (13) greater interest in discussion and participating in politics, (14) and lower trust in politicians and greater cynicism. (15) Digital Political and Humorous Content Today with digital tools and social networking sites, political and humorous content is not the exclusive domain of professionals. Content creation is more affordable and content can be transmitted quickly and efficiently. (Vickery argues that memes, in particular, require few tools and literacies to create.) (16) This user-generated content differs from professional content because of its amateur nature and that it involves sharing with others. Of user-generated content, a great deal is humorous. (17) It follows then that digital political humor is also a notable proportion of user-generated content. The content itself is not qualitatively different from older forms of political humor, however, the production cost and speed of distribution is different. While some investigation into the political effect of digital political content created by users who are not professionals has occurred, it remains unknown if humorous political user-generated content will have similar effects as humorous professional political content. …