Terms & Conditions

It's All a Joke (read this one for real)

Everything on this Site is satire, parody, and fiction. The articles are not news. "Samsara News" is a work of comedy, not a news organization, and reports exactly zero facts. The cartoons are caricature. The "reports," "studies," "statistics," "quotes," and "events" described here did not happen.

Names, characters, businesses, places, public figures, and events are used fictitiously and satirically, for the purposes of commentary, criticism, and parody. Any resemblance to real persons — living, dead, or somewhere between incarnations — or to actual events is deployed as protected satirical expression, and must not be read as a statement of fact, a factual allegation, or a literal claim about any real person or organization.

If a piece appears to quote a public figure, the quote is invented. If it appears to report an event, the event is fabricated for comedic effect. Nothing here is intended as, or should be understood as, an assertion of true fact. In short: it's a joke. If you genuinely cannot tell that it's a joke, we gently suggest that that is the joke.

Not Advice. About Anything.

Nothing on this Site is professional advice of any kind — not medical, legal, financial, psychological, nutritional, political, spiritual, or otherwise — even (and especially) when a piece is dressed up as a "report," a "wellness study," a "market analysis," or "wisdom from a guru."

Do not make decisions about your health, money, votes, lawsuits, relationships, or soul based on a satirical cartoon. For any of that, consult an actual qualified human being.

The Words & Pictures Are Ours

All content on the Site — cartoons, illustrations, articles, poems, the Political Samsara characters and coloring book, and the "Samsara News" and "Raw Literature" names, logos, and overall look and feel — is owned by us or used under license, and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual-property laws.

You're welcome to read it, enjoy it, and share links to it with credit. You may not copy, reproduce, republish, sell, repackage, or pass off our work as your own, or use it commercially, without our written permission. Quoting a short excerpt for genuine review, commentary, or news reporting is fine; lifting whole cartoons or articles is not.

We reserve all rights in our content, including the right to decline its use for training artificial-intelligence or machine-learning systems and for automated text-and-data mining, except where applicable law says otherwise. (We're happy to be quoted and cited — just not swallowed whole.)

Your Two Cents (Comments & Posts)

The Site may let you post comments (currently through Disqus). When you post, you keep ownership of what you write, but you grant us a worldwide, royalty-free licence to display, store, and moderate it in connection with the Site.

House rules: argue with us, disagree loudly, bring your sharpest counter-joke. But don't post anything illegal, defamatory, hateful, harassing, threatening, infringing, or spammy. We may moderate, edit, or remove any comment, and any commenter, at our discretion — for any reason or none. Comments are the opinions of the people who post them, not us. Satire invites disagreement; it does not invite abuse.

The Shop

We sell things: books and the Political Samsara coloring book, wearable art, and custom poems. Some products are printed and shipped by third-party partners (for example, our print-on-demand and merchandise providers), whose own terms, pricing, shipping times, and return policies apply to those orders. We'll point you to the right partner at checkout.

Prices, descriptions, and availability can change without notice, and we may correct errors, cancel orders, or decline service where we need to. Where a partner fulfils your order, your contract for that physical product is in part with them — so for shipping problems, returns, or refunds on those items, their policy governs.

Poems On-Demand

Poems On-Demand is a creative commission: you ask for an original piece, and we write it. Because each poem is made to order, it is delivered as described rather than sold as a returnable stock item, and refunds are limited once we have begun writing.

You receive the finished poem for your own personal use; we retain authorship and the right to be credited as its author. Please don't expect a refund because the muse said something you didn't want to hear.

Other People's Internet

The Site links out to third-party platforms — Instagram, YouTube, Substack, Patreon, our shop partners, and others. We don't control those sites and aren't responsible for their content, products, or practices. When you leave through one of our links, you're playing by their rules, not ours.

Privacy & Cookies

We collect and use limited information as described in our [ policy ], and we use cookies and similar tools (including analytics) to understand how the Site is used. By using the Site, you consent to that handling as set out there. If you live somewhere with data-protection rights (such as the EU/EEA), the Privacy Policy explains what they are and how to use them.

Who's Allowed In

The Site is meant for a general adult audience and contains satire about politics, religion, sex, money, and other things grown-ups argue about. By using it, you confirm you are at least [ 16 / 18 ] years old, or the age of digital consent where you live, whichever is higher. If you're younger, you'll need a parent or guardian's permission — and, ideally, their sense of humour.

No Guarantees (the "as is" bit)

We publish the Site "as is" and "as available." We don't promise it will be accurate (it is, by design, the opposite of accurate), uninterrupted, error-free, or free of the occasional broken link or typo. We may change, pause, or pull any part of it at any time. Use it at your own risk and, ideally, your own amusement.

Limits on What We Owe You

To the fullest extent the law allows, Raw Literature and the people behind it will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Site, your reliance on anything you read here (please don't), or anything posted by other users. Where liability can't be excluded, it is limited to the amount you paid us, if any, in the [ 12 ] months before the claim arose.

You Cover Your Own Messes

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Raw Literature and its team from any claims, losses, or costs arising out of your misuse of the Site, your breach of these Terms, or anything you post.

We Can Change These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we'll change the date at the top. If you keep using the Site afterwards, you accept the updated version. We won't email you about it, because we are a satirical publication, not your bank.

Law, Disputes & Loose Ends

These Terms are governed by the laws of [ the Kingdom of Belgium ], without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules, and any disputes will be handled by the courts of [ Brussels, Belgium ].

If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest stays in force. Our failure to enforce a provision isn't a waiver of it. These Terms are the whole agreement between you and us about your use of the Site.

Talk to a Human

Questions, permission requests, takedown notices, or a strongly worded letter? Write to raw@rawliterature.com. We read everything — even the strongly worded letters. Especially those.