Dictators fear being ridiculed with humor. Jokes about Stalin were punished by prison or death. In China, a TV anchor was threatened for jokes mocking Mao Zedong. In Venezuela, the Maduro government counts anti-Chavismo satire as punishable by censorship, cancellation or even jail.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
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Paul Gregory: Ridicule is a sound remedy for Putin’s provocations
Ukraine's President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacts after the announcement of the first exit poll results in the second round of Ukraine's presidential election at his campaign headquarters in Kyiv on April 21, 2019.
