A recent article spoofing exercise apps on the satirical news site “The Onion” used a map of Jamaica Plain as an illustration.
The Oct. 3 story is headlined “Popular new exercise app just tells users they ran 5 miles a day no matter what.” Lampooning the trend of biofeedback apps, the story describes an app that automatically praises the user for burning 1,000 calories on a randomly generated course without having to actually run it.
The story ran with a doctored photo of a phone running the fictitious app. A close look finds it uses a map of JP. The running route starts at Forest Hills T Station; heads up Centre Street to Jackson Square; then cuts along the Southwest Corridor to Egleston Square and down Washington Street.
The story makes no mention of JP or Boston—the imaginary app company is in California—and “The Onion” did not respond to Gazette questions about its choice of maps.
A screenshot of the “Onion” article’s use of a Jamaica Plain map, with Jamaica Pond visible on the left.