COMIC RELIEF IN FAKE NEWS
Ferguson website aiming to amuse
No, a Windsor city councillor did not propose putting bike lanes on the E. C. Row Expressway.
No, the giant Canadian flag on Windsor’s riverfront didn’t need to be repaired by a seamstress with a long ladder.
And no — a villainous man named Carl A. Creeper is not considering relocating to Windsor.
Those are all fake news stories, created for WhatsUpWindsor. com — a website that bills itself as the city’s “most reliable fake news source.”
“I’ve never portrayed myself as a journalist,” said the man behind the site, lifelong Windsor resident Andrew Ferguson. “I portray myself as a comedian.”
Ferguson, 51, started What’s Up Windsor a year ago — before “fake news” was even a topical phrase.
His original intention was only to amuse himself and his friends. Although Ferguson works in insurance, he dabbled in stand-up comedy and being a radio personality in the 1990s and early 2000s.
After about 10 years away from humorous pursuits, he was inspired by parody sites like The Onion and The Beaverton, and conversations with his pals.
“It was a joke for me and my buddies. We have a beer on Fridays after work. We talk about current events and life,” Ferguson explained. “I started publishing the stories. Some of the early stories are veiled references to my pals.”
Now Ferguson treats What’s Up Windsor as an outlet for his comedic interests. “It’s just to be funny again.
“It’s jokes about Windsor. It’s very much a niche market.”
A disclaimer page on the website states that its content is news satire and parody. Ferguson also personally assures that he has no agenda, and his fake news stories aren’t meant to have any political point.
That’s why Ferguson avoids names of real people in his stories. “The Mayor” is a generic figure who is usually not referred to by a proper name and is not meant to represent Drew Dilkens.
Ferguson even created a fake council member — “Councilman Frank Edwards” — to avoid any mention of actual city councillors.
“I could never attribute something to someone as if they actually said it. That would be wrong,” Ferguson said. “That wouldn’t be fair. It’s about trying to make people laugh — not trying to hurt somebody politically.”
Does that mean he’d be concerned if people took his stories seriously?
“Once or twice, in the last year, I’ve had someone contact me because they think a story is real,” Ferguson said. “The Onion and The Beaverton run into that all the time.
“If someone were to take a story of mine and start acting on it as if it were true, I’d certainly intervene.”
Of course, over the past year, “fake news” has become an issue of heated and often non-productive political debate, thanks to the inflammatory tweets and rhetoric of U.S. President Donald Trump.
There’s also been a noticeable rise in outright lying by “clickbait” sites to draw online attention and advertising dollars.
For example, a story about pop star Lady Gaga praising Tecumseh that spread about a month ago was generated by the “satirical and fantasy website” wyne8.com.
The article is completely false. The website plugs celebrity names into scripts to attract readers. The story about Lady Gaga in Tecumseh was identical to a story about Bill Murray in Barrie.
Ferguson assures that’s not what he’s trying to do with What’s Up Windsor. For one thing, he has no advertisers.
“At some point, I’d like to,” Ferguson said.
“But this is more of a pet project, at this point. Maybe down the road, I could have some (advertising from) businesses around town — pubs and stuff.”