Iraqi satire inspires pre-election youth awareness
Most of Iraq’s 6,982 candidates for the parliamentary election have promised to fight corruption, tackle sectarianism and rebuild the country after the defeat of ISIS.
But a popular Iraqi satirical TV show has struck comedy gold by mining their previously recorded statements to expose hypocrisy.
The Albasheer Show is led by Ahmed Albasheer, 33, who is often described as an Iraqi Jon Stewart. Since it was launched in 2014, the Friday night show has made a big impact, particularly among Iraqi youth.
Mr Albasheer is now hoping to mobilise his following to influence the general election, which is scheduled for May 12.
A recent episode of the show featured a clip of one candidate attacking the Popular Mobilisation Forces, or Hashed Al Shaabi, an umbrella group of mainly Shiite militias, many backed by Iran. But by the next clip the candidate had an about-face.
“The Hashed became legal and constitutional, so of course we are with them,” he says.
“Greaaaaaat,” Mr Albasheer says, laughing at the contrasting clips. “When you have to change your skin to fit your interests, you’re going to run out of skins to wear.” In its four years, the Albasheer Show has attracted 2.3 million followers on Facebook, 85 per cent of whom are under-30. Broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and the German-based Deutsche Welle Arabic channel, each episode is viewed more than seven million times.
Mr Albasheer has been ranked among the 20 most influential people in the Arab world by the Global Influence Research Centre in Switzerland.
Now, the latest season is putting that influence to use to try to make a positive change in Iraqi politics. “We’ve been
waiting four years for this moment,” Mr Albasheer tells The National.
“Iraqi people forget very quickly when someone hurts them. We’re here to give them the true background.”
Using satire to expose hypocrisy can be an edgy proposition in Iraq, where many leaders are used to operating beyond public scrutiny.
Earlier episodes of the show prompted death threats, presumably from the disgruntled targets of their satire, and the
Albasheer Show is now filmed in neighbouring Jordan. But that has not affected its popularity.
Nameer Alashiar, 25, is one of the 150 predominantly young Iraqi men roaring with laughter at a recent filming in a TV studio in Amman. He grew up in Baghdad before moving to Jordan.
“This is the best TV programme in Iraq,” Mr Alashiar says. “He’s a role model for us young people. He teaches us a lot about politicians.”
Ahmed Hussein, 26, from Basra who now lives in the Jordanian capital, agrees: “Albasheer uses humour to get young people interested and involved in politics. It is very smart.”
Each week, a team of 25 researchers trawl through 72 Iraqi TV channels and YouTube videos searching for false promises, contradictory comments and risible interviews to produce satirical clips exposing the true face of Iraq’s candidates.
“On every programme, [former prime minister Nouri] Al Maliki promises to create jobs, give land to the poor and build roads, hospitals and schools,” says Anssam Al Yassin, a researcher on the show. “But he hasn’t done anything. How can people continue blindly following the same old guys?”
By aiming for young voters, the show hopes to change that. With nearly half its population under-19, Iraq is one of the youngest countries in the world. But many of its youth are already disillusioned.
“I used to cancel my vote by drawing a big cross on my ballot paper so that no one could take or use it,” Mr Hussein says.
“We can’t trust any politicians since their only goal is to earn money,” Mr Alashiar says.
To battle this apathy, Mr Albasheer publishes short videos each week encouraging the country’s youth to go to the polls. “They can change everything,” he says.
The show also encourages audience participation by inviting viewers to vote online for or against the candidates lampooned in each episode. Unsurprisingly, the results frequently reveal extremely low approval ratings.
After a recent episode, 96 per cent of 73,000 voters on the show’s Facebook page disapproved of former Salahaddin governor Ahmed Al Jubouri.
On the eve of the Iraqi parliamentary elections, on May 11, the Albasheer Show will air its trump card. The show will broadcast its list of the “cleanest of the dirty” political candidates for each province of Iraq.
“If we choose better people we will head towards a better future,” Mr Albasheer says.
“I want it to work out. If not, I will quit.”