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.