CEO Bruce Dixon told employees in a memo: “It is no longer cost effective to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously.”
Vice was founded in the 1990s and prided itself on its irreverent brand of gonzo journalism. Although the outlet and its reputation have evolved in some ways since its inception, it has remained overwhelmingly degenerate and struggled greatly in recent months.
Former writer Harry Cheadle described Vice in a piece for The New Republic about its demise, saying: “It was stunt journalism, and arguably not even journalism, but it was daring and provocative.”
Cheadle, who acknowledged it helped launched his career, summed up what it was known for in its early days: “There was a “gross jar” that was a jar filled with gross stuff; this was a recurring column. We had a whole series where we’d give someone acid, send them somewhere weird, and film them.”
Vice headlines sound like a parody of woke millennial content
If you haven’t had the exasperating experience of stumbling upon their articles, a look at some of their headlines will tell you everything you need to know about Vice and why they’re shutting down.
There’s “How To Get Free Coke,” with practical tips on obtaining the drug, not the soft drink, without paying for it. It was written by someone whose bio claims she’s a “part-time psycho” who enjoys flirting with security guards, and much of her advice revolves around trading sex for drugs. Another winning drug-related title on the site is “What Happens If You Snort Asbestos and Other Random Things You Shouldn’t?”
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Vice also published “Paintballing with Hezbollah,” a piece in which four of their writers played paintball with Hezbollah fighters in a basement under a Beirut strip mall like they’re hanging out with the cool kids at school.
You’ll also find such useful instructional pieces as “How to Make Breakfast With Your Vagina,” about a woman who made yogurt out of vaginal secretions, and “How to Eat Out a Non-Op Trans Woman,” a title that takes a few reads to understand what they are even trying to say in an article that approaches the subject with considerable seriousness.
The great advice continues with “Buying Abortion Pills Online Is Overwhelmingly Safe, But Maybe Illegal” and another one headlined “Totally Abortion!” in which the writer claims: “It is a goal of mine to make abortion cool amongst teenagers. Like not just “OK,” but actually “cool.”
They’ve also published a piece called “Dear White People, Please Stop Pretending Reverse Racism Is Real” with the tagline “It’s literally impossible to be racist to a white person.”
So many of their articles sound so stereotypically millennial that they almost seem like parodies or nonsense output generated by a super-liberal AI when prompted to come up with something that sounds like it would be written by an outcast teen who wants people to think they’re edgy.
Ridiculous titles aside, we should also mention they’ve written numerous smear pieces taking aim at conservative commentators and independent media outlets that report on important, life-and-death topics that the mainstream media won’t touch out of fear of abandonment by their corporate sponsors.
Go woke, go broke
In short, Vice did not contribute much of value and will not be missed. In fact, it was largely a bunch of propaganda and smear jobs, which is why it is no surprise to see it become part of a broader trend of far-left media outlets struggling. Job cuts have hit BuzzFeed, the Washington Post, Pitchfork, Time and Vox Media, to name just a few, and while no journalist in their right mind would be truly happy to see another media outlet close its doors these days, the writing has been on the wall for Vice for a long time.
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