Is Facebook killing online comedy?

Earlier this year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced major changes to the social network's algorithm. "You'll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands and media," he wrote in, predictably, a Facebook status. "The public content you see ... should encourage meaningful interactions between people."

Less than two weeks later, longstanding comedy video website Funny or Die made another round of redundancies, after laying off roughly 30% of its staff in 2016. The website's CEO, Mike Farah, vented his frustration, tweeting: "There is simply no money in making comedy online any more. Facebook has completely destroyed independent digital comedy."

Tom Walker (Jonathan Pie) interview

By any metric, 2016 was an extraordinary year, not least for Tom Walker whose comic creation, Jonathan Pie, surfed into the satirical landscape on a wave of deceptively insightful diatribes about austerity, Brexit and Trump.

Jonathan Pie: Back To The Studio review

Powerful stuff - and very often funny, too.

Jesters For Putin: The comics breaking through on RT

For Victor Lewis-Smith, the comedian, producer, and regular contributor to Private Eye, putting his new show on RT, the channel formerly known as Russia Today was simple: "In recent years, mainstream broadcasters seem to have given up on investing in edgy and boundary-pushing satire."

Art of political war compared to a comedy club & Disney

A comedian I know was recently asked about the possibility of appearing in the UK-produced comedy series which Russian TV station RT is apparently planning to screen next year. He said he would not appear on RT, which is financed by the Russian government. I think he was wrong. All publicity is good publicity and, if he is allowed control over his own material, I see no real problem.

Laugh Out London's Edinburgh Fringe comedy awards 2017

It's that time again. The fringe is almost over. The pubs of Edinburgh can go back to being pubs, Lee Nelson's face can stop blocking the view of Edinburgh Castle and the Edinburgh recycling plant will be busy turning flyers into mulch. So without further a do lets give out the least prestigious awards of the year, the Laugh Out London Comedy awards (or the LOLies)...

The best Edinburgh shows we've seen already

Fringe-bound comics reviewed before the festival.

Tom Walker: Bee Boo preview

Fiercely inventive prop comic Tom Walker is wilfully odd for oddity's sake, dragging you into his anarchic world with his irresistible personality.

Meet Fringe innovators Berk's Nest

An interview with Katie Churchill, Owen Donovan and Phoebe Bourke, the producers and directors behind some of the Fringe's most imaginative shows

Strong & Stable: no one's safe in Schneider's podcast

Launched for the general election, it's a shame this sharp slice of satire isn't sticking around for a bit longer.