Logos parodies The Gazette

The underground magazine Logos very much reflected the spirit of the 1960s counterculture, with its provocative articles, announcements of underground concerts, advertisements for alternative shops as well as complex and daring psychedelic illustrations.

Their November 1968 issue featured a thinly-disguised spoof of the city’s Montreal Gazette daily newspaper with the headline “Mayor Shot by Dope-Crazed Hippie.” Friends of Logos helped place copies of this issue over stacks of the actual Montreal Gazette on newsstands around the city. The prank was not well-received by the city’s police force, who sued the Logos publishers for publishing news they knew was false and “likely to cause injury or mischief.” During their trial in the summer of 1969, Logos received the support of many journalists, including those writing for the Montreal Gazette. The charges were overturned, which at the time was considered an important victory for free speech in Canada.