[This article is better read with sad music. here’s a link if you don’t have any idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTs83Ej5nS8.]
Here at Semuchka, we love fake articles. This one isn’t. 😮
A simple idea
Semuchka, as a site, has existed since the 44 days war. The initial idea, which came after discussing among friends, was to hit Azerbaijan by showing all its absurdity through one of the best information vehicles: humor.
And we think we succeeded in this. Other media have pointed out the idiocy of the Aliyev regime, but we were the only ones crazy enough to make Greta Thunberg praise them for recycling presidents, etc…
Afterwards, we wanted to break some taboos in the Armenian community, which we thought weakened us far too much. We weren’t the only ones: a whole generation wondered how we could fall in the hands of barbarians, without noone seeing it coming. And above all, why nobody wanted to talk about it. 😐
Now the word is out, flaws have been exposed, and we’re happy to have been able to contribute, however modestly.
We also hit on various politicians and organizations, but more on that later in the article.
A success from the start
When we launched the website and its social media page, we thought we would get at most 30 views per article.
A few days later, one of our articles generated tens of thousands of views and thousands of reactions. Then it started again. Then another one. 😮
Without knowing it, we found ourselves with a lot of subscribers and few people to take care of moderation, shares, etc…
An overwhelmed team
The team has evolved slightly over time, and we can be proud to have included members of the diaspora (US, France), as well as real Armenians from Armenia (put away your pitchforks). 😆
Most of our members wanted to remain anonymous from the start. Some because they were afraid that their grandmother would find out about it, others for security reasons. When point out stuff, people react dangerously (especially when they’re a bunch of psychos 😮 ).
We knew the project wouldn’t last long, and it could stop at any time. Our most faithful readers have noticed we started publishing less often. The reason is very simple: the lack of availability.
Since the launch, some of our members have finished their studies, others have seen their professional or family responsibilities increase… and after recent departures, we have decided to stop Semuchka at the end of 2021. 😮
When satire is more authentic
Another reason for stopping our satirical publication is the landscape of our community, and its media overall.
While we were making crazy fake news for fun, it seems that most Armenian media are doing it seriously… and it’s coming back to hit us, because everyone thinks we’re the same. 😐
Actually, it seems that we don’t need satire as much as basic information. Neutral and objective information.
And as a satirical blog, we don’t feel we have the maturity to deal with such things. 😮
The dark side of Semuchka
Also, in terms of objectivity, we’re not totally innocent.
Over time, some of our articles have ended up being politically oriented. Not that we were wrong to point out issues. or that we only dealt with one side…
But after reviewing everything objectively, it seems we have been “used” at times by some to hit their opponents. We also promoted people who, in hindsight, may not have deserved it.
This is only about 4-5 articles out of the hundreds on the website, but it’s already 4-5 articles too many. We learned our lessons.
Semuchka may end, but there’s something on the horizon
All this put together (members being unavailable, satire being not so relevant, and a desire to move on) made us decide to end the project.
HOWEVER!
Several of our guys will be joining a project that should be presented to you soon.
The outline is still kind of blurry and there’s still a whole roadmap to validate, but it’s quite possible that Semuchka, or at least the spirit of Semuchka, will continue in another form, in a slightly different project.
While waiting for more concrete announcements, the Facebook page will continue sharing content. Stay around. 😉
Thanks
All members of the team, present or past, would like to thank the readers and some fans who joined in to have a laugh together. 😆
Some of your messages have warmed our hearts when we were receiving threats from some weirdos.
Encouragements, but also your criticism, have comforted us to continue in a task that seemed insurmountable: make Armenians a little more “loose”. 😆
If there’s one thing we’re proud of, it’s that we did it all of this without ever asking you a penny (thanks to those who offered).
The thing is, we never found how to set a button for donations. 😮
(Kidding, use your money to support Armenia.)
Thanks everybody. See you on our next project. 😉
The clowns at Semuchka