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BBC causes a stir with Real Housewives of ISIS sketch

The satirical sketch has been watched millions of times.

THE BBC SPARKED a social media storm after screening a comedy sketch called The Real Housewives of ISIS, satirising the women lured into joining the Islamic State jihadist group.

The satirical two-minute sketch, which featured in the comedy show Revolting, has been seen more than 21 million times and drawn nearly 90,000 comments on the BBC 2 television channel’s Facebook page since airing on Tuesday.

The reaction has varied between those who found it “sick” and “tasteless”, causing “pain and hurt”, to others who found it “hilarious”, and lauded it for mocking the “violent, paedophilic, regressive death cult” of Islamic State.

The Real Housewives US reality television franchise shows the lives of affluent women in various cities.

In the sketch, they are replaced by black-clad British wives of Islamic State jihadists who discuss their outfits, including two women turning up in matching suicide vests.

“It’s only three days till the beheading, and I’ve got no idea what I’m going to wear,” complains one.

“Ali bought me a new chain which is eight foot long, so I can almost get outside, which is great!” says another, attached to an oven.

Adam Dodson / YouTube

While the BBC declined to comment, Jolyon Rubinstein, one of the duo behind Revolting, which satirises current affairs, posted on Twitter: “Why shouldn’t we mock female jihadists?”

His co-creator Heydon Prowse said he was “glad the nation (is) discussing this”.

Both retweeted the comments of Ali Official, a British comedian of Bangladeshi descent, who said: “The sketch ridicules online grooming and draws attention to an important topic. The whole point of satire is to expose stupidity.

“Satire like this highlights the absurdity of those that recruit and get recruited for ISIS.”

© AFP 2017

Read: Obama says Chicago attack shows ‘a lot of problems that have been there a long time’>

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    May 22nd 2022, 12:52 AM

    Give over stop worrying about cyber attacks and threats on the national security and all that hse crap. Now we have more cycle lanes. What’s not to love!! Eamonn Ryan ye legend.

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    Mute Rob
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    May 22nd 2022, 6:29 AM

    Was the name ever released of the big company that was hit by the ransomware hack ever released and the sum they paid?

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    Mute Mickety Dee
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    May 22nd 2022, 8:59 AM

    I thought a private company was brought in to do the clean up

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    Mute Noel O'Neill
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    May 22nd 2022, 10:41 AM

    The defence forces could have retained the personnel that they lost through stupidity on their own behalf in not granting these personnel with an extra €20 in tech pay which they were value for money so the same were head hunted by private companies.

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    Mute Alan Leahy
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    May 22nd 2022, 4:34 PM

    @Noel O’Neill: €20 a week. You think people are leaving over €20 a week?
    A CIS technician can be on as low as 40k in the DF, while their counterparts in private sector are getting 80k plus.
    €20 a week…. That gave me a giggle….

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    Mute Mike Dunne
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    May 22nd 2022, 11:35 AM

    It only takes one rogue machine to bring a whole network down. As long as the antvirus software is kept continuously up to date, systems shouldn’t be compromised.

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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    May 22nd 2022, 11:51 AM

    @Mike Dunne: Seriously you think anti virus works like that. It is a game of cat and mouse.
    You cant have an antivirus program that stops a virus it does not know. Hence the updates.

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