Russian Prosecutors Once Tried To Take Down South Park

[TMC]

https://www.looper.com/959296/russia...wn-south-park/

Russian prosecutors once filed a motion to ban South Park, claiming that the series could incite religious hatred

In 2008, the Russian Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith requested that Russian prosecutors ban "South Park" from open broadcast, claiming that the series "Insults the feelings of religious believers and incites religious and national hatred" (via CBC News). The group specifically targeted the Season 3 episode "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics," which depicted Mr. Hankey himself (a sentient piece of poop) reimagining popular Christmas songs alongside special guests like Satan and Adolf Hitler.

The complaints led to direct action from the Moscow Prosecutor General's Office, which filed a motion to ban the series and claimed that, in their words, "["South Park"] could provoke ethnic conflict and spark inter-religious hate." Although this motion ultimately ended up failing, in the years that followed "South Park" still received plenty of criticism and censorship within Russia — most notably in 2009, when the Russian channel 2X2 cut a specific episode that depicted Vladimir Putin in a negative light, according to The Independent.

Although these Russian prosecutors may not have succeeded in their quest to completely ban "South Park" from open broadcast, it's clear that the country has no reservations about censoring some of the series' more incendiary content.