Sonay, AliAliSonay0000-0002-6722-7336Khalil, Joe F.Khiabany, GholamGuaaybess, TouryaYesil, Bilge2024-10-092024-10-092023https://boris-portal.unibe.ch/handle/20.500.12422/69426Algeria witnessed peaceful protests between 2019 and 2020, known as the Hirak . Media were both one of the major subjects and the forums of these protests. This chapter asks what role humor played as a rhetorical device for the protestors and in which media spheres these humorous takes were circulated. It focuses on how humor was used during the Hirak , and with what implications. To this end, I use data from interviews I conducted with journalists and academics, as well as analysis of Facebook and Twitter posts, and Algerian websites. The chapter concludes that humor played an important function in three different ways: 1) in creating agency for the movement by framing the demands in an appealing and resonating way. 2) by contributing to a culture of commonality, and 3) by infusing a dimension of fun and relief into a challenging wave of mobilization over an extended period.en200 - Religion::290 - Other religions300 - Social sciences, sociology & anthropology::320 - Political science300 - Social sciences, sociology & anthropology::360 - Social problems & social services300 - Social sciences, sociology & anthropology::380 - Commerce, communications & transportation900 - History::960 - History of Africabook_section10.48350/16818610.1002/9781119637134.ch28