Entertainment
2023 INN Awards featuring ‘Golden Sock Puppet of the Year’
As 2023 comes to a close, INN awards its annual Word of the Year, and crowns its inaugural ‘Golden Sock Puppet of the Year’ to the person or organisation that has done the most to keep us all thinking INNformation – rather than for ourselves.
SANDY: Do you play games Brian?
BRIAN: You mean shifty news media games…
SANDY: No, No… Video Games?
BRIAN: Oh, yes of course! Which one are we promoting again?
SANDY: Well, none of them… [Shift to SandiCam: “YET”] – but I did catch a bit of the 2023 Game Awards in LA, where Baulder’s Gate 3 just won the Game of the Year
BRIAN: Oh yes, a top win there, especially in one of the best years for gaming in history [PIC: contenders] and there was a nice little nod to the trans community too, with the jury of 100 gaming influencers and media reps completely shunned Hogwarts Legacy, the highest selling game of the year, from receiving even a single nomination in any category, Sandy
SANDY: Well, it’s no surprise really, given it was inspired by J.K Rowling’s books, the birthing person who, despite having continuously supported trans rights and donated to LGBT+ groups, became a hated transphobe around the world for her opinions that weren’t INNformation with new gender norms Brian…
BRIAN: No wonder the 140-odd artists and programmers at Avalanche Software weren’t nominated! They have to learn that you can’t really be INNformation unless everyone you associate with is too – Which brings us to the presentation of our own awards, beginning with our annual Word of the Year!
SANDY: Oh I can’t Wait! I hope it’s not Misinformation again?
BRIAN: No, no – although this year’s word does go well with misinformation, and is used just as often! This year’s INN Word of the Year is… Problematic!
SANDY: Why is it problematic?
BRIAN: No, it IS Problematic!
SANDY: Oh the WORD is Problematic?
BRIAN: Yes, a word which has grown in popularity every year since 2010… And now, the presentation of our inaugural INN Golden Sock Puppet of the Year award!
SANDY: I’m so excited! We get to make a regular personality or organisation an honorary sock puppet just like us!
BRIAN The one who has done the most to keep us all thinking INNformation rather than for ourselves, like the lunatics, misinformers and conspiracy theorists… And the nominees for 2023 are…
- Dylan Mulvaney – for pushing the boundaries of what social media influencers need to do to become successful
- Daniel Andrews – for his extraordinary achievements in narrative control throughout his time as Victorian premiere
- Justin Trudeau – government so inclusive, it invited a former nazi to be honoured in front of Jewish Ukrainian President Zelensky
- Wired.com – for giving Hogwarts Legacy a 1/10 review due to its association with the problematic J.K. Rowling
- The ABC’s Dr Norman Swan, for excellence in Covid panic reporting including staying outdoors with a mask this Christmas despite being post-pandemic
- And CNN for its 365 day, 24/7 coverage of everything Donald Trump including opinions pieces on why he is still so popular
BRIAN: And the INN Golden Sock Puppet of the Year for 2023 is… Daniel Andrews!
VO: Our inaugural Golden SPOTY was a close call, with the ABC’s Dr Norman Swan almost getting over the line for his outstanding contribution to mainstream media Covid panic including a litany of way off predictions, doomsday-style advice, and blaming the early heart attack deaths of Shane Warne and Kimberly Kitching on Covid without evidence – or even Covid. The self-proclaimed “most trusted doctor in Australia” – who hasn’t practised medicine in over 30 years, makes a worthy runner up for this year’s award. Well done Norman!
And to our victor – Daniel Michael Andrews was born on 6 July 1972, becoming a politician shortly after. He led his Labor party to victory in three consecutive elections, his ruthless style of progressive dictatorial leadership led to the longest Covid lockdown on planet earth, the forced termination of workers opposed to injection mandates, the highest state debt in the country costing 170 million a week in interest, and highest taxes in the country including a Covid Debt Levy which will tax homeowners for his bill. But aside from secret deals with China, constant resignations within his cabinet, lying by omission during covid and anti-corruption commissions and running unprecedented PR campaigns of social media rather that attending public events, loyal fans of the progressive premier continued to support the man who became known as Teflon Dan to the bitter end. No one has controlled mainstream narratives the way Dan did from the seat of Victorian power, which makes him our first ever Golden SPOTY Award winner for 2023, and one tough act to follow.
BRIAN: An incredible achievement for the beloved premier who truly went above and beyond to keep us all INNformation on so many things, and for such a long time Sandy…
SANDY: Wow, I can’t think of a more deserving recipient Brian! And now that he’s retired from office, we might not see a Puppet like Dan Andrews for a long, long time…
BRIAN: We can only hope so…
