We don’t find such pranks very amusing. Some people may be trying to be funny, but we also encounter hoaxes calculated to accomplish political or financial ends. Our task is to produce a news report that people can believe in. False material – however intended – undermines our mission. Each year our staff takes extra measures to be vigilant as April Fools’ Day nears, though we know well that hoaxes can be perpetrated at any time. We would not consider someone who attempts to perpetrate an April Fools’ hoax to be a reliable source for anything in the future, April Fools’ Day or not.
Posted in Announcements
April Fools’ Day “pranks”?
At April Fools’ time, we’re sometimes asked how we feel about people planting “prank stories” in the media.