{{short description|Fandom news site for the My Little Pony franchise}} {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Equestria Daily''}} {{Use American English|date=November 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Infobox website | name = ''Equestria Daily'' | logo = EQD Logo.png | logocaption = | screenshot = EquestriaDailyScreenshot.png | caption = ''Equestria Daily'''s homepage on March 17, 2018. <!--IMAGE DOES NOT NEED TO BE CHANGED UNLESS NEW LAYOUT--> | url = {{URL|equestriadaily.com}} | type = [[Online communities of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|''My Little Pony'' fan site]] | author = Shaun "Sethisto" Scotellaro | launch_date = {{nowrap|{{Start date and age|df=no|2011|01|19}}}}<!--<ref name="whois">{{cite web|url=http://whois.domaintools.com/equestriadaily.com |title=Whois Record For EquestriaDaily.com |work=DomainTools |access-date=2012-02-01}}</ref>--> | commercial = No | footnotes = | language = English | current_status = Active | registration = Optional }} {{My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic sidebar}} '''''Equestria Daily''''' (frequently abbreviated as '''EqD''' or '''ED''') is a [[fan site]] dedicated to the coverage of fandom news and [[fan works]] of the [[brony fandom]]&mdash;the adult fandom of the [[Animated series|animated television series]] ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]''. ''Equestria Daily'' is operated by a team of editors and has been officially recognized by the show's production team as well as [[Discovery Family|The Hub]] (later Discovery Family), the television network on which ''Friendship Is Magic'' aired. It is considered the central fan news site of the brony fandom.

In 2014, the [[Library of Congress]] selected ''Equestria Daily'' to be archived as part of their "Web Cultures Web Archive Collection" by the [[American Folklife Center]].

==History== {{See also|Brony fandom#History}} [[File:Jayson Thiessen and Sethisto at BroNYCon Sept. 2011 cropped.jpg|thumb|left|[[Jayson Thiessen]] (left) and Shaun "Sethisto" Scotellaro at [[BroNYCon]] 2011]] '''Shaun Scotellaro''' ("'''Sethisto'''"), a 23-year-old Arizona college student, established the website in January 2011 to collect news and [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan fiction|fan fiction specific to ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'']]. In order to establish the site, Scotellaro had to cut back on his community-college classes in order to run the site out of his parents' house in [[Glendale, Arizona]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203707504577012141105109140.html| title = Hey, Bro, That's My Little Pony! | author=Vauhini Vara and Ann Zimmerman | date = 2011-09-07 | access-date = 2011-09-23 | website =[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> He has explained that he believed the show needed a unified fan base at the time, as he and many other older fans had recently become supporters of the show&mdash;commonly known as ''[[brony fandom|bronies]]''&mdash;and there was an overarching concern that [[Hasbro]] would not be authorizing a [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 2|second season]].<ref name=ponyup>{{cite web | url = http://www.betabeat.com/2011/08/03/pony-up-haters-how-4chan-gave-birth-to-the-bronies/ | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120721093137/http://www.betabeat.com/2011/08/03/pony-up-haters-how-4chan-gave-birth-to-the-bronies/ | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2012-07-21 | title = Pony Up Haters: How 4chan Gave Birth to the Bronies | first = Una | last = LaMarche | date =2011-08-03 | access-date = 2011-08-03 | website =[[The New York Observer]] }}</ref> Towards the end of 2010, when the fan-following was still in its infancy and confined mostly to the [[/co/]] (comics and cartoons) and [[/b/]] ("random") boards of [[4chan]], all pony-related content was banned by a moderator who had enough of the [[Flaming (Internet)|flame war]] that was being waged between those who enjoyed the show and those who did not. Posting a message containing the word ''pony'' became a bannable offense on 4chan, prompting Scotellaro to launch ''Equestria Daily''.<ref name=ponyup />

After its creation, the blog began to gain attention from ''My Little Pony'' fans. Though Scotellaro initially operated the website alone, by the end of June 2011, the large amount of fandom news sent to ''Equestria Daily'' resulted in the website's staff being expanded to include two more editors, an "interviewer/YouTube organizer", and a corps of pre-readers for ''My Little Pony'' fan fiction submissions.{{primary source inline|date=July 2012}}<ref name=FAQ group="‡">{{cite web | url = https://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/equestria-daily-faq.html | title = Equestria Daily FAQ |first=Shaun|last=Scotellaro| date = 2011-06-09 | access-date = 2011-09-03 | website = Equestria Daily}}</ref> By this point, the website was garnering around 300,000 additional page views per day, and with the supplementary editors was managing to post a greater number of updates with increased frequency, though still primarily of fan fiction.<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/06/bronies-my-little-ponys/ | title = My Little Pony Corrals Unlikely Fanboys Known as 'Bronies' | first= Angela| last = Watchcutter | date = 2011-06-09 | access-date = 2011-06-09 | magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/09/play/colt-success | title = Colt success: My Little Pony's reboot, Friendship is Magic | first=Daniel| last = Griffiths | date = 2011-06-09 | access-date = 2011-06-09 | magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired UK]]}}</ref>

''Equestria Daily'' has also partially branched into other forms of media dissemination, currently possessing a [[Facebook]] page, [[YouTube]] channel, and [[Twitter]] account, though all updates are still hosted on the originally-established [[Blogger (service)|Blogger]] site. As of July 2012, the site has boasted over 220 million [[Hit (Internet)|hits]] since its creation in January 2011.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.macleans.ca/2011/09/07/ponies-do-sondheim/ | title = Ponies Do Sondheim | author=Weinman, Jaime | date = 2011-09-07 | access-date = 2011-09-23 | website = [[Maclean's]]}}</ref> In an interview with [[CBC Radio]] in December 2011, Scotellaro stated that the site was reaching more than 500,000 views per day.<ref>{{Cite AV media | title = Curious about Bronies? | url = http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2011/12/07/curious-about-bronies/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120107231512/http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2011/12/07/curious-about-bronies/ | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2012-01-07 | format = [[Adobe Flash]] | date = 2011-12-07 | access-date = 2011-12-07 | publisher = [[CBC Radio]] | medium = Radio broadcast | first = Jian | last = Ghomeshi }}</ref> The site receives enough pageviews per day that it is able to sustain itself through advertising revenue.<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/my-little-pony-smackdown-girls-vs-bronies/ | title = My Little Pony Smackdown: Girls vs. Bronies | date = 2012-06-28 | access-date = 2012-06-28 | website = [[Collectors Weekly]] | first = Lisa | last = Hix }}</ref> The site was designed by Knighty, and the site is maintained by the site's developer Gameleon.<ref group="‡">{{Cite web|first=Shaun|last=Scotellaro|title=Equestria Daily Staff Page |url=https://www.equestriadaily.com/p/equestria-daily-staff-page-2022.html |access-date=2023-11-13 |language=en|website=Equestria Daily}}</ref> In June 2014, ''Equestria Daily'' reached 500 million total views.<ref group="‡">{{cite web| url=http://www.equestriadaily.com/2014/06/half-billion-celebration-time.html | title=Half a Billion Celebration Time | first=Shaun|last=Scotellaro | website=Equestria Daily | date=2014-06-15 | access-date=2014-06-16}}</ref>

In 2014, the [[Library of Congress]] selected the site to be archived as part of their "Web Cultures Web Archive Collection" by the [[American Folklife Center]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2017/09/the_library_of_congress_web_cultures_web_archive_is_collecting_memes_as.html | title = Memes Are the New Jump-Rope Songs | first = Jacob | last = Brogen | date = September 4, 2017 | access-date = March 18, 2018 | website = [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] }}</ref> The collection was established for the purpose of "documenting the creation and sharing of emergent cultural traditions on the web".<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.loc.gov/collections/web-cultures-web-archive/about-this-collection/ | title = Web Cultures Web Archive | publisher = [[Library of Congress]] | access-date = March 18, 2018 }}</ref> This archive currently covers the website's state from June 2014 to August 2016.

==Official response== The ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' production team at [[Studio B Productions|DHX Media Vancouver]], as well as the network which broadcasts the show, [[Discovery Family|The Hub]], have both acknowledged the existence of the fan community, and have individually sent official material specifically to ''Equestria Daily''. The Hub had a summer advertising campaign for the show based around a parody of [[Katy Perry]]'s "[[California Gurls]]" called "Equestria Girls"; one of the lyrics mentioned "bronies" hanging out with the ponies.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/22/the-throwback-my-little-pony/ | title = The Throwback: 'My Little Pony' | author = McLaughlin, Katie | date = 2011-09-22 | access-date = 2011-09-23 | website = CNN Entertainment | archive-date = November 11, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201111235732/https://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/22/the-throwback-my-little-pony/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> An extended promotional version of the song was sent to Scotellaro's blog for "our favorite Pony fans".<ref group="‡">{{cite web | url = https://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/05/extended-equestria-girls.html | title = Premiere: Extended Equestria Girls|first=Shaun|last=Scotellaro| date = 2011-05-27 | access-date = 2011-10-01 | website = Equestria Daily}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Connelly |first=Sherilyn |title=Ponyville Confidential: The History and Culture of My Little Pony, 1981-2016 |url=https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/ponyville-confidential/?srsltid=AfmBOoqUEw6Tj1DBX8Uhcv6aNXgTvNWx8JpTHUhmqQPT3iswvcutGz46 |year=2017 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]}}</ref>{{rp|97}} In July 2011, The Hub sent ''Equestria Daily'' the "There's a Pony For That" commercial;<ref group="‡">{{cite web|title=There's a Pony For That HQ Version | date=July 8, 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p50-oWY1pFE |language=en |access-date=2022-06-19|website=[[YouTube]]|publisher=Equestria Daily}}</ref> in September 2011, Hasbro sent ''Equestria Daily'' a review copy of their interactive [[iOS]] storybook ''[[My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day]]''.<ref group="‡">{{cite web | url = https://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/09/cereal-reviews-twilight-sparkle-teacher.html | title = Cereal Reviews Twilight Sparkle: Teacher for a Day | author= Cereal Velocity | date = 2011-09-22 | access-date = 2011-10-01 | website= Equestria Daily}}</ref> Several key figures in the production team have done exclusive interviews for the website, including supervising director and showrunner [[Jayson Thiessen]]<ref group="‡">{{cite web | url = https://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/09/exclusive-season-2-audio-interview-with.html | title = Exclusive Season 2 audio interview with Jayson Thiessen | author= Tekaramity | date = 2011-09-14 | access-date = 2011-10-01 | website= Equestria Daily}}</ref> and ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' developer and creative director [[Lauren Faust]].<ref group="‡">{{cite web | url = https://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/09/exclusive-season-1-retrospective.html | title = Exclusive Season 1 Retrospective Interview with Lauren Faust | author= Tekaramity | date = 2011-09-16 | access-date = 2011-10-01 | website= Equestria Daily}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Licari-Guillaume|first=Isabelle|title=Expect the Unexpected: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and the Creation of a Double Audience|journal=Transatlantica|issue=2|year=2019|doi=10.4000/transatlantica.14963|doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[My Little Pony: Magic Princess|Gameloft's ''My Little Pony'' game]] features a recurring annual event called "Freedom of the Press" which features a shoutout to ''Equestria Daily'' by naming the in-game news organization after the website.<ref group="‡">{{cite web|first=Shaun|last=Scotellaro|title="Freedom of The Press" Event Returns to The Gameloft Game |url=https://www.equestriadaily.com/2022/04/freedom-of-press-event-returns-to.html |access-date=2022-06-19 |language=en|website=Equestria Daily}}</ref> In May 2022, prior to the release of the ''[[My Little Pony: Make Your Mark]]'' special on [[Netflix]], Hasbro sent an exclusive clip of the premiere to the site.<ref group="‡">{{cite web|title=My Little Pony: Make Your Mark - Hitch and Posey Clip (EQD Exclusive) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZu0hVLXmyU |language=en |access-date=2022-06-19|website=[[YouTube]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523070438/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZu0hVLXmyU|archive-date=2022-05-23|date=2022-05-23|publisher=Equestria Daily}}</ref>

== See also == * [[List of fan works of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|List of fan works of the ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' fandom]] * [[Online communities of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|Online communities of the ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' fandom]] * [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan fiction|''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' fan fiction]] * [[Art of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|Art of the ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' fandom]] * [[Music of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|Music of the ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' fandom]] * [[Derpibooru]] * [[Derpy Hooves]] * [[Fimfiction]] * [[:/mlp/]]

==References== {{reflist|2}}

{{Primary sources references section}}

[[Category:American entertainment news websites]] [[Category:Internet properties established in 2011]] [[Category:Brony fandom]]