''The Beaverton'' is a primarily online Canadian

news satire News satire or news comedy is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called a satire because of its content. News satire has been around almost as long as journalism itself, but it is particularly popular on t ...

publication, based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

and

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

."The Beaverton makes people chuckle"
''The Medium'', March 26, 2012. It features news stories, editorials,

vox populi ( )Vox Populi
. Oxford Diction ...

and other formats (such as university reviews) whose structure and layout mirror those of conventional newspapers but whose content is contorted to make humorous commentary on Canadian and world issues. The publication was founded in 2010 by Queen's University alumni Luke Gordon Field, Alex Huntley and

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

graduate Laurent Noonan (1982–2014).

Reception and believability

Several of ''The Beavertons articles have been reported as real news. In May 2013, a story on Chris Hadfield's return to Earth and being greeted with a $1.3 million bill for cellphone roaming fees after spending several months in space received more than 400,000 hits."The Beaverton: How much further can comedic satire go in Canada?"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', August 21, 2015. The story was reported as real news by

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

newspaper ''

Ming Pao ''Ming Pao'' () is a Chinese-language newspaper published by Media Chinese International in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, ''Ming Pao'' established four overseas branches in North America; each provides independent reporting on local news and colle ...

''. In July 2013, a story about an English-speaking parrot being removed from Montreal's Biodome because it did not speak French during a government inspection was similarly received; according to ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'' it "shocked many Canadians" but "turned out to be a spoof." ''The Beaverton'' has also been noted for its stories on Canadian politics. During Stephen Harper's state visit to Israel in January 2014, the publication mocked the Canadian Prime Minister's unflinching support of Israel by reporting that he was the Israeli Prime Minister returning from Canada after a long visit. In September 2015, the site published an article which used

Ashley Callingbull Ashley Callingbull (born October 21, 1989) is a Canadian model, actress, and television personality. She became the first Canadian and Indigenous woman to win the Mrs. Universe title on 29 August 2015. She and her stepfather participated in the ...

's crowning as

Mrs. Universe Mrs. Universe is an annual international event for "the most honorable married woman". The event is open to married, divorced, and widowed women from nations on all continents around the world, who are between the ages of 18 and 55, have a family ...

to comment on the media's failure to adequately cover the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women."The Beaverton pulls controversial article on Ashley Callingbull"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...

, September 1, 2015. After being criticized by Aboriginal groups, the article was pulled from the site and an apology was posted on ''The Beavertons Facebook page. In May 2016, the ''

Hamilton Spectator ''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation,''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar. History ''The Hami ...

'' made reference to a ''Beaverton'' article as factual in an editorial about the entire New Democratic Party caucus appearing in neck braces and wheelchairs after the infamous elbowgate incident. The ''Spectator'' changed the editorial, but did not issue a formal retraction. Starting in October 2016 the site has been granted day passes by the

Parliamentary Press Gallery The Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery (french: Tribune de la presse parlementaire) is an association established to oversee rules and responsibilities of Canadian journalists when at Parliament Hill. The organization was formed in 1866 by Tho ...

, which allow writers increased access to Parliament but not full access granted to full-time Parliamentary journalists.

Other media

In 2017, Luke Gordon Field and Alex Huntley released a satirical look at Canadian history, ''The Beaverton Presents: Glorious and/or Free: The ~~True~~ History of Canada'', published by Penguin Canada."The Beaverton sinks satirical teeth into Canada's past"

Ottawa, November 18, 2017. ''The Beaverton'' TV series debuted on

The Comedy Network CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy and formerly known as The Comedy Network) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming. The channel first launched on Octob ...

in November 2016, and had aired three seasons.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaverton, The 2010 establishments in Ontario Canadian comedy websites Online magazines published in Canada Magazines established in 2010 Satirical magazines published in Canada Satirical websites Magazines published in Montreal Magazines published in Toronto Canadian news parodies

Reception and believability

Other media

See also

References

External links