[4] Published as part of the activities of the University of Sydney Students' Representative Council (SRC), Honi Soit is a tabloid-sized publication incorporating a mixture of campus-specific and broader political articles.

Issues are published weekly during university semesters, typically containing a topical feature article; letters to the editors; campus news; political analysis; investigative journalism; culture and reviews; and comedy and satire.

Notable past editors include Lex Banning, Bob Ellis, Victoria Zerbst, Verity Firth, Sam Langford, Laurie Oakes, Kip Williams, Craig Reucassel, Hannah Ryan, and Keith Windschuttle.

"[18] The new paper sought to paint the undergraduate varsity in a more favourable light, giving voice to the student's successes and their progressive opinions, a role which it has continued to pursue to the present.

An important line of demarcation for Honi came in the 1960s with editors Richard Walsh and Peter Grose's premature resignation to found Oz magazine, a humorous publication in Australia and (later) Britain which came into conflict with legal authorities in both countries.

[9][19] In 1967 Honi was implicated in the development of the Anti-Vietnam movement in Australia, being blamed for road blockades that led to the infamous "run the bastards over" affair during a visit by American President Lyndon B.

[20] The paper was described as "filthy and scurrilous" in the Legislative Council of NSW for their stance against the war, and former editor Richard Walsh was denied entry to the United States in 1966 for his outspokenness on the issue.

However the SRC declared the paper had become far too important to let it perish, and provided temporary funding on the condition that the publication be restructured back towards a more traditional newspaper, instating conservative editor Keith Windschuttle to placate critics.

The 2013 'Vagina Soit' cover was used by gender equality and gender-based violence advisor Alison Shepherd-Smith in Kenya to raise awareness of female genital mutilation, showing a class of women what a variety of vaginas look like.

Former contributors include art critic Robert Hughes, poet Les Murray, film-maker Bruce Beresford, OZ magazine co-founder Richard Walsh, media personality Clive James, feminist Germaine Greer, journalists Bob Ellis, David Solomon and Laurie Oakes, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, High Court Judge Michael Kirby, author Madeleine St John, historian Keith Windschuttle, theatre director Kip Williams, intellectual Donald Horne, broadcaster Adam Spencer, philosopher George Molnar,[28] various members of comedy troupe The Chaser, and journalist Avani Dias.

[12] Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has named Honi Soit as the impetus for his initial entry into politics, having been inspired to begin writing to the paper by a "quirky" edition which "demonstrated how to build a nuclear bomb".

The constant controversy surrounding the paper was lampooned in a 1967 edition which contained a cutout "special libel coupon" that would make it easier for readers to "sue Honi Soit for all it's got (two battered typewriters)".

"[34] The paper became a point of contention in the lead up to the 2013 Australian federal election, as a standing record of the allegedly violent and anti-social conduct of Prime Ministerial candidate Tony Abbott during his time at University.

[40] In August 2018, Honi gained media attention when it emerged that they had published an article by former University of Sydney lecturer Jay Tharappel, which praised the regime in North Korea.

[41] Tharappel's article claimed that North Korea was an "egalitarian" society, which was benefiting from the "past sacrifice" of its citizens and remained "necessarily authoritarian" due to its antagonism with the United States.

[42] The article drew further criticism from Jewish organisations, after it became known Tharappel had engaged in alleged antisemitic behaviour, including making tendentious comments on Facebook about the Holocaust.

[41] In 1945, the Christian Societies of the university drew media attention after they called for the paper's editors to be sacked for publishing information about birth control, and for misquoting the Bible.

Honi Soit was frequently in conflict with the police from the 1950s through to the 1970s for publication of what was considered indecent material, generally depicting nudity or erotica in various forms, often published to specifically antagonise the authorities.

They used their colour pages to present a biting satire of quality commercial media, with rarely seen images of dead and wounded Iraqis juxtaposed against vacuous magazine style copy, such as "Fashion From the Front Line".