TIME magazine doesn’t understand Canadian satire; thinks the US Ambassador threatened Parliament with a Patriot missile

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

The Beaverton, a Canadian satire mag, write an article about the US Ambassador to Canada.

Trying to think of the most outrageous possible statement, they attributed a fake quote to the US Ambassador:

”‘A Canada that it would be very easy to target with 500% steel tariffs, or one patriot missile aimed at Parliament Hill,’ he added, rather incredulously.’”

Cause nobody would think the US Ambassador would threaten to bomb Canada , right?

Yeah, about that. TIME quoted it straight.

And then had to issue a correction.

The Beaverton responded:

“We don’t try to trick people,” said MacIntyre, who’s also an editor. “I promise I wrote that line thinking this is the silliest joke I can write and people will obviously think it’s a joke.”

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/beaverton-dupes-time-hoekstra-9.6996328

2

Not to mention that Patriot is a purely defensive missile, which any credible media should have known or found out.

3

Sure, but it’s not like it’s unbelievable a member of this administration wouldn’t know that.

4

The joke of course is that reality is now so insane that nobody, and I mean nobody, can write parody that stands out from reality. The Onion, and the Beaverton, will founder in the current gale of bullshit.

But yeah, the Patriot missile is for killing incoming aircraft and missiles, not for attacking ground targets. Any fool oughta know that much. The current US administration criminal regime may well not, but any Canadian politician or journalist would.

5

What kind of US Patriot is “purely defensive”? The best defense is a good offense! You know who said that? Mel, the cook on “Alice”.

6

But when Canada unleashes their top-secret Maple Leaf Repulsion Fields to make Parliament fly, we’ll be ready!

7

Yeah! When do we get to start trashing bozos?

8

The Patriot is a surface-to-air missile so the only way to hit Parliament with one is if it falls on the building. The headline would be 100% more believable if they had said Tomahawk missile instead.

9

Seems Time Magazine isn’t the only ones having trouble with humour these days.

10

One commenter on The Beaverton’s FB page referred to this as ‘The Beaverton Window’ - the shifting perspective on satire and reality. I really wish I’d thought of that one first!

11

I honestly wouldn’t have been sure if someone had asked me yesterday if TIME was still in business.

12

I know, right? Powerhouse of the media in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s.

And now? Gets taken in by some Canadian satire mag.

Ozymandias.

13

About 10 years ago, someone said “The only way you can tell anymore that an Onion article is an Onion article is that it’s in the Onion.”

Wish I could remember who said that.

And, Time just doesn’t understand satire in general; it has nothing to do with Canada. Except maybe that they are better at it.