Time Magazine publishes made up Beaverton quote as real US ambassador statement

Time Magazine's October 1, 2025, article on strained US alliances mistakenly cited a fabricated quote from Canadian satire site The Beaverton, attributing it to US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra.

The quote, "It would be easier to put 500 steel tariffs on Canada or one Patriot missile aimed at Parliament Hill", appeared in a Beaverton parody exaggerating Hoekstra's Halifax Chamber of Commerce remarks on anti-American sentiment amid President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Hoekstra's office confirmed to CBC News the statement was inauthentic, with spokesperson Ariel Pollock stating via email: "The quote attributed to Ambassador Hoekstra by Time is a fabrication. The ambassador did not make this statement".

Origin of the satirical quote

The Beaverton, a parody outlet akin to The Onion, published the piece satirizing Hoekstra's real October event comments where he expressed disappointment in Canadian views of the US, saying: "I’m disappointed that I came to Canada, a Canada where it is very, very difficult to find Canadians who are passionate about the American-Canadian relationship.”

Beaverton writer Ian MacIntyre told CBC: "That's absolutely a made-up quote... I escalated some of his remarks to absurd levels... I assure you I crafted that line thinking it would be the silliest joke possible".

Time treated it as genuine amid coverage of tariffs and Trump's 51st-state rhetoric, highlighting satire's occasional plausibility in tense geopolitics.

The Beaverton posted on social media: "When your ambassador is SO deranged that Time Magazine says, 'Yeah, that quote sounds real'".

MacIntyre added: "We’re not trying to make fake news or hoodwink people, and it’s always baffling when anyone thinks we’re real, let alone a guy that was an important journalist".

Time later appended a correction acknowledging it had incorrectly attributed a satirical quote, which drew online mockery, with Reddit users comparing it to past satire mix-ups like Clickhole articles. The US Embassy in Ottawa issued clarifications.

Hoekstra's provocations stem from Trump's tariffs, which Canada views as economic threats, fueling the ambassador's complaints about bilateral sentiment.

The Beaverton has a history of accidental mainstream citations. This incident underscores challenges in distinguishing satire from rhetoric in polarized climates.