I get uneasy when newspapers run April Fool's Day jokes. All day long, I find myself reading stories and wondering if they are true or not.
I don't want to be the April Fool.
But the day after this April Fool's Day article in the Times Colonist, I've had a rethink of my position for very practical reasons.
That story by Bill Cleverley is now the most popular story on our website for the past 64 days. It passed the milestone early Wednesday, less than 24 hours after we released the whopper on our readers.
Reaction from readers was overwhelmingly positive. Even those initially fooled by prank had a laugh once they were clued in.
From our online comments:
Likewise, there were good-natured responses on social media.
Fell for the first April Fool's joke of the day "Mayors of Oak Bay, Saanich want #UVic renamed to USOB" http://t.co/EwaFYUVCW6 #OhTheShame
— Alex Gros (@AKGros) April 1, 2014
Props to @timescolonist for their very convincing April Fools article... although I would totally go to a school called USOB.
— LucyEllery (@LucyEllery) April 1, 2014
@jackknox @timescolonist Bahahahahaa! Got me hook, line and sinker.
— Dan del Villano (@ShambalaDan) April 1, 2014
And there was plenty of chatter on Facebook. It's worth reading the many comments there:
Social media loves this sort of thing. In fact, 47% of those who read the prank story came from Facebook.
Most of you, it seems, love a good joke.
