In the 90's the MIM Squiers were made in the same factory as the MIM Fenders and they were both made of poplar.
this is correct. there was a fender mim squier series. it was basically a mexican strat with a shitty finish, electronics, and hardware. the logo on the headstock was plain black and was identical to mim strats with the exception of a small "squier series" at the end of the headstock. i have one somewhere but some **** sanded off the "squier series". otherwise i'd post a pic. i bought it for 80 bucks to mod for a kahler but it's actually a very nice playing and sounding guitar so i opted to leave it be short of a rewiring. it has an unusually thick neck and large frets, which i really like. but yes, they are poplar.