Lara Prendergast Lara Prendergast

Vice News and Isis have formed a bizarre symbiotic relationship

If you haven’t watched Vice News’s five-part documentary about Isis yet, I’d highly recommend it. They’ve gone where no other media company has managed: into the heart of the Islamic State. As a result, Isis and Vice have formed a bizarre symbiotic relationship. Both are youth-focused, both have global ambitions and both have a pioneering spirit. Even their black-and-white branding is similar.

The documentary veers between the terrifying and the absurd, and wouldn’t pass any of the BBC’s impartiality tests. But Vice scooped their deep-pocketed rivals by bedding in with these mad jihadis. They may be the new kids on the block, but they deserve to be taken seriously. I’ve reviewed their documentary in this week’s Spectator, which you can read here.

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Lara Prendergast
Written by
Lara Prendergast
Lara Prendergast is executive editor of The Spectator. She hosts two Spectator podcasts, The Edition and Table Talk, and edits The Spectator’s food and drink coverage.

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