The April Fools’ Day Pranks Local Newspapers Play

By: Niraj Chokshi | The Washington Post

It’s not exactly clear how far back the tradition of pranking people on the first of April goes, but most reports suggest its at least a few centuries old. And local newspapers have been using (and abusing) their platform as purveyors of political news for such pranks since at least the early 1900s, too.

Here’s a (totally selective) roundup of some of those prank political and policy reports, mostly courtesy of the Museum of Hoaxes, which is based in San Diego. (At least, we think it is — but, who knows, maybe it’s an elaborate hoax.)