Let's face it: April Fool's Day has become an especially groan-worthy exercise in the Internet era. Thanks to the viral nature of social media these days, people aren't just pranking their family and coworkers. They're pranking all of us on a scale hitherto unknown to previous generations of humankind, and the truth is, it's really, really difficult to determine what's true and what's not.
This year proved to be no exception. From the police department that introduced its new bomb-sniffing rabbit to bogus news articles to one mega-celebrity's fake baby announcement, here are all of the major April Fool's Day pranks that everyone totally fell for—hook, line, and sinker! And if these don't sufficiently tickle your funny bone, then these 120 Jokes That Are So Bad They're Actually Funny definitely will!
1 | James Comey Announces He's Running for President
ShutterstockAt 3:25 pm, former FBI director James Comey posted a photo of him standing in what looks like the set of Field of Dreams with the caption, "I’m in. We need someone in the middle. #2020."
Suffice it to say, it sent the internet into a frenzy.
Two hours later, however, he revealed it was all just a ruse, writing, "but could you imagine a president who used this website to make dad jokes rather than to hurl insults? Happy #AprilFools. #VoteDem2020." Oh, and speaking of dad jokes: If you love them as much as Comey does, then you'll definitely want to read these 50 Hilarious Dad Jokes.
2 | The Los Angeles Times Says New York's Dinner Scene Is "Expanding"
ShutterstockThe LA Times published a piece called "For cramped New York, an expanding dining scene," along with a tweet that said, "No one associates New York, a city in the eastern United States, with good restaurants. That's beginning to change."
As you can imagine, foodies across the East Coast expressed their outrage until it became clear that the whole thing was a hoax.
3 | Justin Bieber Implies Hailey Baldwin Is Pregnant
ShutterstockJustin Bieber posted a sonogram of a fetus, which seemed to indicate that his new wife, Hailey Baldwin, was pregnant. When people thought that was a joke, he followed it up with another photo of her sitting in a gynecologist's office with a seemingly pregnant belly.
He revealed that it was an April Fool's joke by photoshopping a puppy into the sonogram.
4 | Metro UK Says "Straight, White Men" Will Be Banned From Comments Section
ShutterstockMetro UKposted an article claiming that a campaign spearheaded by "a polyamorous feminist 26-year old student" to ban straight, white men from commenting on any site on the Internet was gaining traction and that "hundreds of publications have already signed up to this exciting initiative." Suffice it to say, it was a joke.
5 | The U.S. Open Announces It Will Employ Puppies As Ball People
Shutterstock"BREAKING: The U.S. Open to add puppies to the ballperson team at the 2019 tournament for the first time. All breeds welcome," the U.S. Open tweeted.
Full confession: We were heartbroken to learn that this one was bogus.
7 | Tinder Debuts "Height Verification" Feature
ShutterstockIn an apparent spoof on the common complaint that men on Tinder are often much shorter in real life than they claim to be in their dating profiles, Tinder announced it was rolling out a "height verification" feature so that no one would ever be disappointed to see their date walk through the door again. They later revealed it was a joke, and encouraged "all Tinder users to keep an open mind while on the app."
8 | Starbucks Announces Store Just for Dogs
StarbucksCoffee/YouTube"We see how much our customers love dogs," Starbucks said in a promo video for a new concept store called Pupbucks, "so we wanted to offer a Starbucks experience exclusively for dogs."
9 | Tom Brady Says He's Retiring from Football
ShutterstockAt around noon yesterday, New England Patriots superstar Tom Bradytweeted, "I'm retiring. In my spare time, I'll be tweeting #LFG." Fans of the six-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback freaked out, which is probably why he followed up later with, "Was this a bad joke?"
Yes, Tom, yes it was.
10 | UK Police Announce Bomb-Sniffing Rabbit
Shutterstock"After 6 weeks training meet the forces new drugs sniffer rabbit Benni be sure to say hello if you see us on patrol #SSThomas," the Special Constabulary of Cambridgeshire, England tweeted. But, really, doesn't that sound like exactly the kind of thing that would happen in a magical-sounding place like Cambridgeshire?
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