NZ Conservative Party leader Colin Craig took offence to
a satire piece in The Civilian that poked fun at his stance on same-sex marriage, so much so that he
called in his lawyers. Not surprisingly, the
Streisand Effect did the rest, and Craig retracted his lawsuit. The author of the satirical piece and The Civilian founder, Ben Uffindel, got
some free publicity for his efforts and could even make a living off it. And even if Mr Craig had been successful in his cease-&-desist, he'd probably have to sue Google Cache as well.
Upon hearing of this furore, the first thing that came to mind was when Jerry Falwell
sued Hustler Magazine for 'emotional distress', after a spoof Campari advert implied that he had, well, a not-so-mild case of the Oedipus complex. The US Supreme Court saw sense and ended up throwing out the case.
It all goes to show that the British have satire instead of revolutions - one of the better traditions passed down to us all.
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