Although most media outlets have stopped using April Fools’ Day because of the fear of its association with fake news, many still see it as a way to fool the public.
The subway in Oslo was among those who tried on Monday morning:
“To meet the needs of our passengers, the subway is introducing 1st and 2nd class. Pay a little extra for comfort, free Wi-Fi, a separate seating area and a limited number of travelers per day. Wagon.”https://twitter.com/Tbanen/status/1774680830431944838.
One of the more creative variants out there, the Lillestrøm library stands for:
The library will contribute to the declining birth rates, and invites fertile men to book an appointment for sperm donation.
– The librarians can assist with reading aloud from erotic books. If necessary, the hair knot can also be taken out and the glasses pushed down on the nose, they write on their Facebook pages.
– Do you know what day it is today? was the first thing library director Sølvi Tellefsen said when the local newspaper Romerikes Blad picked up the thread.
SATS played a trick on us when they wrote this on their Instagram:
“Sooooo many people have been asking for this, and the day has finally come… We’re launching SINGLE TAPE! You can now get green sweatbands at reception so you can let everyone know you’re single and ready to mingle. We look forward to hearing love stories from our centres. Soulmates included”.
With Coop’s singles basket launch vaguely in mind, a singles band at the gym wouldn’t be entirely unlikely.
But this is an April Fool’s joke, confirms PR manager Tina Brodal.
Someone else who was in the humorous corner is the think tank Civita, which issued a press release stating that manager Kristin Clemet is resigning following information that her husband has owned shares in the think tank.
The joke was a clear reference to the last year’s many integrity cases in politics, including this one, this one and this one.
This year, it was possible that someone at TV2 and Drammens Tidende had forgotten today’s date when Strømsgodset issued a press release stating that they are fielding a reduced squad for the start of this year’s Eliteserien season as a result of corona infection:
This later turned out to be an April fool’s joke from the football club.
– We were deceived, writes TV2 itself on X:
The custom of fooling the gullible on April 1st is widespread throughout Europe and North America, and several media outlets have had a tradition of fake cases on this day, in an attempt to fool their readers.
In recent years, the largest media in Norway have nevertheless failed to publish such matters on 1 April. Despite the fact that it may be a popular tradition, the focus on fake news and conspiracy theories has led to more people being more careful about what is published.
Someone who went against the flow last year is Klassekampen, which published a story about Conservative politician Nikolai Astrup moving to Switzerland after the au pair ban. This was picked up by the news agency NTB NTB quickly published the so-called news. So did several other newspapers, including VG.
A gap in the market
On the occasion of 1 April, Ikea launched the purse plugs to protect the nobler parts of their shower stools.
“Then you don’t have to be afraid that either the ‘skipper’ or the ‘boatmen’ will get stuck in the MARIUS stool when you take it into the shower”, they write.
