The Civilian

Last updated

The Civilian
Founder(s)Ben Uffindell
Founded2013
Website thecivilian.co.nz [ dead link ]

The Civilian was a satirical New Zealand website. It was started in 2013 by Ben Uffindell, who finished a degree in political science at University of Canterbury in 2012. [1] [2] It has been compared to the US satirical website/newspaper The Onion . [2] [3] In April 2013 The Civilian received about 15,000 page views per day, [2] and in a May 2013 interview Uffindell stated an average of 20,00025,000 page views per day. [4]

Contents

The site caused controversy when Conservative Party leader Colin Craig threatened to sue for defamation over satirical quotes regarding his stance on same-sex marriage. [5] [6]

In June 2014, Uffindell announced through his website his intention of forming a political party. [7] [8] The Civilian Party was registered by the Electoral Commission on 11 August 2014. [9]

See also

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References

  1. Manhire, Toby (25 March 2013). "The Civilian: a new NZ satire site". New Zealand Listener . APN News & Media . Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Gates, Charlie (1 April 2013). "Satirical spoofs spread word for The Civilian". The Press . Fairfax New Zealand . Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  3. Fisher, David (27 April 2013). "Web satirist gets the last laugh". The New Zealand Herald . APN News & Media . Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  4. Bookman, Sam (20 May 2013). "From the Blogosphere The Civilian". Craccum (10). Auckland University Students' Association. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  5. Satherley, Dan (23 April 2013). "Colin Craig threatens satirical website". 3 News . MediaWorks New Zealand. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  6. King, Caroline; Speer, Sophie (24 April 2013). "Site's popularity soars after stoush". The Press . Fairfax New Zealand . Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  7. "Editorial: Why we're registering a political party". The Civilian. 7 June 2013. Archived from the original on 13 July 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  8. "Joining The Civilian Party". The Civilian. 7 June 2013. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  9. "Registration of The Civilian Party and Logo". Electoral Commission. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.