War and Deceptive Spinning Are Over... Not

"Public relations firms across the country predict massive layoffs in the coming months due to recent legislation outlawing the firms' most lucrative practices," according to an article in a spoof edition of the New York Times, dated July 4, 2009. The real Times reports, "In an elaborate hoax, pranksters distributed thousands of copies ... Wednesday morning at busy subway stations around the city." The lead story of the spoof paper is "Iraq War Ends." Other stories detailed similar wonders, including "national health care, a rebuilt economy, progressive taxation, [and] a national oil fund to study climate change." The spoof "special edition" Times is also online, where it 'reports' that "new regulations carefully scrutinize government contracts with for-profit public relations companies. ... The new rules would have forbidden the creation of the National Smokers Alliance, a front group formed by Philip Morris with the help of P.R. giant Burson Marsteller." The spoof paper has been linked to the Yes Men, a political satire group that's previously targeted the World Trade Organization and Dow Chemical Company.