Here's What Not to Fall For on April Fools' Day

Trust us
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 1, 2016 12:22 PM CDT

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet—but especially not on April 1. April Fools' Day is the perfect, albeit well-worn, opportunity to post on Facebook that you're pregnant or to inform your significant other that you just won the lottery. But if you'd rather read about the day's hoaxes than partake in them, here's a roundup of some of the notable online deceptions so far:

  • VentureBeat pulls together all of the various stunts carried out specifically by Google. Sorry, but Gmail Mic Drop—which would have allowed users caught up in a long, annoying conversation to simply press the "Send + Mic Drop" button for their final reply and then mute all further responses—has already been turned off because of bugs.
  • Even prankster-in-chief hopeful Ted Cruz got in on the act, per Politico, tweeting, "Happy to hear @realDonaldTrump accepted my challenge to debate one-on-one," followed by a link to a video on this website. Watch the 72-second clip to see said "debate."
  • It's not exactly a prank, according to Jezebel editor Emma Carmichael, but her staff is switching the reins with sister sports-themed site Deadspin today, which means you're going to be seeing stories throughout the day like "Ryan Gosling Is Not All That Good Looking, IMO" on Jez, and "Man, These Chicks Suck at Baseball" over at Deadspin.
  • Not sure what you can believe? Snopes will spend the day debunking.
(More April Fools' Day stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X