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Indybay Feature

"Oakland's Onion" Hit with Cease and Desist Orders

by Gary Garino (garymgarino [at] gmail.com)
Oakland Unseen has been blocked from publishing Bay Area-focused political satire since April 23, 2013

Amid the Obama's administration's crackdown on journalists, it appears that fake journalists close to home have had a crackdown of their own. Oakland Unseen is a fake news website that's published provocative political satire on Oakland and the San Francisco Bay Area, ranging from topics like Occupy Oakland, California's 3-Strikes Law, and the shooting of Oscar Grant, to political corruption in Oakland.

The site posted a notice on April 23, 2013 that it had received Cease and Desist letters shortly after it published a piece satirizing California politician Don Perata, portraying him as a Tony Soprano-style mafia don. Since April 23, no new articles have been published to its Tumblr or Twitter account. It is unclear if Perata is the origin of the letters, as the site had published a similar fake article on November 2, 2012 alleging that Perata launched "single-choice voting with ballots featuring only his name," and compared Perata to Don Corleone.

Attempts to contact Oakland Unseen via their Twitter, email, and Tumblr have been unsuccessful, as well as attempts to contact Don Perata for comment. Shortly after Oakland Unseen posted news of their cease and desist letters on Twitter, several Bay Area activists and lawyers replied that they could help represent the fake political news site, however, searching Alameda County court records has yet to reveal the cease and desist orders in question. If you have any additional information about these matters, please email Gary Garino at garymgarino[at]gmail.com.

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