A satirical website named The Owl Pellet has been posting weekly online articles since October, but has recently gained popularity across the Keene State College campus.
Word of the website spread throughout campus after it published an article claiming KSC President Anne Huot relies on advice from a toy Furby upon making decisions, especially about whether or not to cancel school.
Previous to the release of the article, entitled “President Huot Reportedly Doubting Decision to Rely on Advice of Furby for School Cancellations,” many students said they had not heard of the website.
It appeared that the website’s popularity heightened when the college remained open during a snowstorm — which consequently angered many students.
Many students, such as junior Rebecca Marquis, stated they heard of the website through sharing on social media sites.
“I heard about the article on Twitter and on Facebook during one of the snowstorms,” Marquis said.
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“Shortly after I read it I got a few texts asking if I knew if it was true or not since I work in the president’s office as a student assistant,” she explained.
Marquis stated she knew immediately that the website was based on satire and not affiliated with the college when she read the headline and saw the photograph of Huot with a Furby sitting on her desk.
Taylor Murphy, an elementary education major, said she too heard of the website via social media as well as through word of mouth.
“I heard a lot of people talking about the article [in the dining commons and in classes] because it was so funny and such a bizarre story to come up with. However, I did also hear multiple people discussing it with the belief that it was true which honestly is almost as sad as the website itself,” Murphy explained.
Junior and sociology major Cody Shanks admitted he was one of the students who was fooled by the website at first.
Shanks shared that he read the article and was disappointed in the alleged decision making process of KSC’s president.
“Unfortunately, I did believe the website was real at first,” Shanks admitted.
“I didn’t realize it was a parody account because of how many people shared it on Facebook,” he stated.
Shanks said it wasn’t until he looked more into the website by reading other articles that he realized the site was fake.
Other recent articles posted by The Owl Pellet and its anonymous staff include headlines such as “Student Wearing Hood In Dining Commons 100 Percent Confident He Won’t Ever Need Peripheral Vision” and “Professor Surprised To Find Students Actually Seem To Care This Semester.”
“I was surprised to learn that [The Owl Pellet] was fake because of how many people had shared it [on social media]. Someone told me within hours after I saw it that it wasn’t real. I wasn’t mad though, I found it funny,” Shanks shared.
Marquis stated she found the website to be humorous.
She said the nature of the website, though often ridiculous and silly, is ultimately harmless.
Murphy said she also viewed The Owl Pellet to be mostly undisruptive.
“The articles the website posts are too ridiculous for anyone to take seriously. I see it as harmless because the creators of the website clearly state in the ‘about’ section that every article they write is fake,” she said.
On The Owl Pellet website, it states “These articles are in depth pieces of journalistic excellence that give college students the critical knowledge they need to thrive in a diverse environment.”
The website continues to say “All the articles are also fake and stupid.”
Shanks reiterated Murphy’s statement by sharing how he thought the only potential harm of the website could produce would be if someone were convinced the articles posted held any amount of truth.
“When I was under the impression that the Furby article was real, I was mad about it,” he said.
“But when I was told it was fake I was still mad. I thought it was kind of pathetic that people would go out of their way to write something so pointless,” he continued.
Marquis found the Furby article to be the only aspect of the website that was problematic. She said she felt the article was written as a reaction to President Huot not closing the college.
“I think people were upset about not getting a snow day and someone came up with the idea to say [Huot] makes those decisions based on a 90s toy,” Marquis explained.
“That website helped perpetuate the negative thoughts and emotions we were all feeling on those days that didn’t get canceled,” she explained.
She added how she believes the level of satire the website reaches is what makes the site “silly but forgettable.” Though Marquis stated it is fine to make jokes, it is a different situation when those jokes are published.
Claire Hickey can be reached at chickey@kscequinox.com
