Damascus Dropbear

The Damascus Dropbear is a Christianity news satire website that publishes satirical articles on topics including religion, politics, current events, and public figures. The site puts a comedic spin on current news topics and broader social observations.

The site takes its name from the Syrian capital of Damascus (which the Bible records as the destination where the Road to damascus was blinded) and the mythical Australian Drop bear.

History[edit]

The Damascus Dropbear was launched in June 2020. The author(s) are anonymous, but outdoor education business owner, Ashleigh Belsar, has acted as spokesperson for the organisation in a number of radio interviews.

In March 2021, the Damascus Dropbear won a major appeal with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) to become the first satirical and humour-orientated organisation to attain charity status.^[1] The ACNC twice rejected the website’s application for charitable status, arguing that its fundamental purpose of satirical news could not be considered as a charitable objective. The decision was then overturned after the decision was found to be too narrow, recognising that the use of satire aligned with an “increasingly common” use of the genre in modern communication and the 'the advancement of religion'.

Damascus Dropbear has also engaged in public debate in Australia's largest Christian newspaper, Eternity (newspaper), on the topic of Can Fake News spread the Good News.^[2]

Content[edit]

The Damascus Dropbear is similar in style to the American satirical site, The Babylon Bee, taking on the tone and format of a traditional news publication from a Conservative Evangelicalism perspective. Being set in Australia however, it provides different political topics and humour that can be more closely compared to a 'Christian version' of the popularThe Betoota Advocate.

Awards/Recognition[edit]

In 2021, Damascus Dropbear was named as a finalist for the CMAA Excellence in Media Awards, for the Community Impact Award.^[3]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

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