Newspapers strike this April Fools’ Day - Mihir's Impressions
April Fools’ Day is an old custom celebrated every year on the first day of April. It is celebrated as a day when people play practical jokes and hoaxes on each other, both the jokes and their victims being known as "April fools".
05 Apr 2014 | 4040 Views | By Mihir Joshi
Hoax stories may be reported by the press and other media on this day and explained on subsequent days. The origin of the tradition dates back to the middle ages, it is said that those who continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1st after the 1582 implementation of the Gregorian Christian calendar were often as "fools".
Many newspapers celebrate April Fools’ Day by publishing hoax stories which is sometimes wishful thinking and sometimes involves outrageous fact twisting. Here are some claims that have been revealed to be deliberate public hoaxes, published as April Fools’ Day hoax this year.
The Times of India
Hindustan Times
We wonder how Megan Fox feels about this prank.
English media take a dig at the Scottish Referendum
The Scottish independence referendum on September 18 provided the subject matter for most of the traditional spoofs in Britain's largely London-based tabloids and broadsheets on April 1.
The Guardian carried a detailed report on supposedly secret plans by the Scottish government to show it is "part of Europe" by switching driving on the left of the road to the right and changing the "M" for motorway on signs to "S" for Scotland.
The Times said that an elderly German aristocrat, Ferdinand, Duke of Saxony, hoped to use Scottish independence as a chance to reclaim the throne of Scotland from Queen Elizabeth II.
The Independent meanwhile said the United Nations was drawing up plans for a peacekeeping mission to prevent cross-border tensions in case of independence, including pre-arranged "face-offs" modelled on the Hollywood film "Braveheart".
The UN peacekeepers would replace their traditional blue helmets for fear the colour would be seen as a sign of support for Scottish independence, and replace them with "neutral" purple berets, it said.