I'd Druthers Not

I got this piece of anti-vax, anti-Trudeau, pro-Russia, conspiracy-laden garbage in the mail a couple of days ago. 

DRUTHERS "News"

Considering there is no advertising, I was curious about who is putting up the money for this trash. Googling the publisher's name, Shawn Jason (Laplante) brought me to this article from December 2020 on the anithate.ca website.

Current funding for the paper is coming from a mixture of sources, including crowdfunding, ad and merchandise sales. Laplante states on his GoGetFunding page that $3,000 is all that is needed to produce and distribute 25,000 copies, and that $5,000 would enable him to complete a publishing run of 50,000. For the upcoming January 1st edition, he has raised $1,680 as of December 6. Assuming all the supporters who advertised their business ventures in the first edition paid for the space, he brought in approximately $1,125 through advertising sales. 

Laplante, who appears to be based in Toronto, writes in his first editorial that Druthers’ creators are “explorers of truth” who “love and care for all of humanity.” While this may be what he would like people to believe, it is not the case.

According to the paper, current circulation is 200,000 so, despite not having any advertising, they're getting a chunk of money from somewhere. There is a website too - I won't post the link but Google will find it if you want. 

Friends have told me that they've seen it distributed for free at some subway stations in Toronto. My copy showed up with flyers in my mail; oddly my next-door neighbour didn't get a copy.

It appears to be just another manifestation of the anti-vax, conspiracy-laden right-wing media space. My copy is going straight into the recyle bin.