Parazit
Encyclopedia
Parazit is a weekly half-hour Persian-language satirical television show broadcast on Voice of America
's Persian service. The show pokes fun at Iran
ian politics and culture. Kambiz Hosseini
and Saman Arbabi
, Iranian expatriates living in Washington, DC, started the show as a 10-minute segment in another show influenced by the American satirical news show The Daily Show
. Parazit was launched before the June 2009 presidential elections in Iran
. It became very popular in Iran, reaching its audience via illegal satellite dishes, the internet, or bootleg DVDs. Its name is a reference to the Iranian government's repeated attempts to jam foreign satellite programming. Because it is distributed through unofficial channels, it is impossible to determine the audience. However, as of January 2011 the show's YouTube
channel is viewed 45,000 time a week and Facebook
page is visited 17 million times a month.
The program and its presenters have been subject to significant criticism in Iranian state media, described by some as "character assassination
".
Hosseini and Arbabi appeared on The Daily Show on January 20, 2011.
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
's Persian service. The show pokes fun at Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian politics and culture. Kambiz Hosseini
Kambiz Hosseini
Kambiz Hosseini is an Iranian playwright and TV host working for Voice of America. He was born in Rasht, Iran in 1975 and moved to the US in 2000. Hosseini was the host of popular radio show called Islamic Revolution Blossoms when he was 10 years old. Since then he has written and directed many...
and Saman Arbabi
Saman Arbabi
Saman Arbabi is an award winning full-time journalist based in Washington, D.C.. He was born in Tehran, Iran in 1973 and moved to France and then the United States in 1985. Arbabi's professional experience includes covering the Middle East and has taken him to Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Israel,...
, Iranian expatriates living in Washington, DC, started the show as a 10-minute segment in another show influenced by the American satirical news show The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
. Parazit was launched before the June 2009 presidential elections in Iran
Iranian presidential election, 2009
Iran's tenth presidential election was held on 12 June 2009, with incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running against three challengers. The next morning the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's official news agency, announced that with two-thirds of the votes counted, Ahmadinejad had won the election...
. It became very popular in Iran, reaching its audience via illegal satellite dishes, the internet, or bootleg DVDs. Its name is a reference to the Iranian government's repeated attempts to jam foreign satellite programming. Because it is distributed through unofficial channels, it is impossible to determine the audience. However, as of January 2011 the show's YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel is viewed 45,000 time a week and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page is visited 17 million times a month.
The program and its presenters have been subject to significant criticism in Iranian state media, described by some as "character assassination
Character assassination
Character assassination is an attempt to tarnish a person's reputation. It may involve exaggeration, misleading half-truths, or manipulation of facts to present an untrue picture of the targeted person...
".
Hosseini and Arbabi appeared on The Daily Show on January 20, 2011.