Poynter blogger: Don't forget the April Fool's day archives

Posted by Kelley Vendeland on April 9, 2008 at 12:56 PM

April Fool's Day stories have become a lighthearted tradition at news organizations of all sizes and all mediums. By now though, eight days after April 1, the stories have already been laughed about and forgotten in favor of more serious fare.

But, as Poynter blogger Ernst Poulsen points out, this does not mean that the stories have disappeared from the archives. Some April Fool's stories come with a built-in disclaimer, such as this CNET story (scroll to the very bottom). However, according to New York Times blogger Mike Nizza, such disclaimers are not the norm.

"April Fool's Day articles are usually not mean, but they are meant to deceive," Poulsen writes.

Most readers are good at sniffing out a spoof story, but it's not a bad idea to follow the lead of certain Danish websites which have already put April Fool's disclaimers on their articles to prevent misunderstanding further down the line.

Sources: E-Media Tidbits, New York Times, CNET