Origins The site was started in 2014 by journalists Archer Hamilton and Charles Single, who began working on the idea for
The Betoota Advocate after meeting publisher Piers Grove through their work in the media industry. Single, formerly a writer for
The Canberra Times, had lost his job in a wave of redundancies at the newspaper, The pair, who attended
Charles Sturt University together, Hamilton had grown up near Mitchell where his parents worked as
graziers, before moving to
Brisbane in the 1990s. It places an emphasis on highlighting Australian youth culture and lampooning contemporary issues in a sarcastic manner, including through the use of
slang and colloquialisms. Its growing readership base is driven largely via its presence on
Facebook. In 2016, the pair were involved in a controversial television ad for politician
Bob Katter's re-election campaign, in which they appeared in character.
Business model The Betoota Advocate is funded via advertising revenue and sponsored brand placements within articles. In August 2017, it launched a similar campaign for
Virgin Mobile. Products making use of the
Betoota brand have also been launched. In October 2016, the site published a book,
The Betoota Advocate Round-Up, consisting of a compilation of articles sourced from the website. In January 2017, the site teamed up with Sydney brewery Yulli's Brews to launch a branded line of beer, Betoota Bitter, to be made available at a number of pubs throughout Australia. The site aims to expand the beer's availability into regional towns that share an affinity with the broader
Betoota Advocate brand.
Television In November 2021, it was announced that
Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITP) had partnered with The Betoota Advocate to produce a slate of premium, unscripted television productions for domestic and international markets. In March 2023, streaming service
Paramount+ announced that it would air
The Betoota Advocate Presents, a satirical comedy documentary series that investigates modern Australian controversies, which premiered on 14 June 2023. ==Controversies==