Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Newspapers and companies have been spinning tall tales all morning in an effort to dupe the public as part of this year’s April Fool’s Day.
The annual tradition sees firms announce bizarre and nonsensical products and rebrands, while many media outlets also publish invented stories.
Among this year’s crop of pranks include Uber unveiling a pogo stick option in its app, a crematorium threatening to fine funerals which overrun and Google reintroducing the classic mobile game Snake.
Here we’ve rounded up some of the best jokes and pranks.
Please allow a moment for the live blog to load
Football fans in Manchester, famous for their willingness to work side by side with hated rivals, are being offered a unique opportunity as the Premier League season draws to a close.
Manchester City and Manchester United fans who are both rooting against Liverpool claiming the title can now buy a limited edition half-and-half shirt featuring both team's colours, thanks to sports website The Sportsman.
A spokesman for the company said: "We believe it is the perfect thing to wear for the Manchester derby on 24th April where both fans can join together in stopping the title going to Anfield."
Poking fun at supposedly hapless millennials is basically mandatory on April Fool's Day in recent years (see Sainsbury's pink avocados below).
Joining the fray this year are Kia, who have supposedly launched a new steering wheel which only features two touchscreens.
Young people are so addicted to their smartphones, we obviously are incapable of managing a traditional steering wheel. Instead, Kia now offer the Finger Operated Optimum Lever (check the acronym...) which allows youthful drivers to simply swipe right or left to turn the car.
A double tap sounds the horn. Of course.
Walkers Shortbread has heard the cries of "discrimination" from those who are not vertically challenged and in response has invented "tallbread", a shortbread finger (of "foot") which is three times the length.
Still packaged in the iconic tartan design, each of the new "tallbread" biscuits is 30cm long, meaning "even the loftiest of biscuit lovers are left satisfied".
The best April Fool's jokes are those which could actually be true, of course, and Brixton Academy came up with a classic of the genre this morning.
The world-famous gig venue tweeted an image of work taking place inside the building and proudly announced they were "finally getting that of the sloped floor".
Non-music lovers may not appreciate the gag, but the Academy's sloped floor is a much-beloved and iconic piece of live music history.
Some smaller April Fools are also popping up on Twitter. This cheeky notice was spotted on a vending machine in a Cambridge office this morning:
A cruel Year 7 teacher may have take the joke too far by setting her hapless pupils a wordsearch task with words which do not appear in the puzzle:
In Australia, McDonald's announced the McPickle burger on Instagram, made from "juicy, flavoursome pickles layered between melted cheese, ketchup sauce and toasted sesame seed buns".
Slightly undermining the joke was the rapturous reception the fake burger received online, with many fans of the fast food chain genuinely interested in buying the product.
Sadly, the company confirmed those hopes would be dashed and said it was only "available until yesterday".
Everyone has experienced that awkward moment when watching a TV show or film with family when a graphic sex scene comes on.
So the BBC's iPlayer April Fool's gag was also well-received. The broadcaster launched its latest iPlayer feature: a "skip the sex" button to automatically fast forward through any titillating but uncomfortable segments.
Allegedly, the technology uses "advanced meta-data techniques" to identify scenes with graphic content and ensure the skip button automatically pops up to allow viewers to rapidly move on without missing any of the story.
The Daily Express's 2019 offering was somewhat inevitably Brexit-inspired: the newspaper reported the UK may be kicked out of the Eurovision Song Contest because it is seeking a hard Brexit.
The Paris-based L'Institute de Eurovision Song (as ever, have a look at what the initials spell) had apparently decided it would not be fair on other countries taking part if Britain continued to compete despite quitting the EU.
Meanwhile, Malta Today published an almost-believable tale about a Conservative MP's efforts to strip the Mediterranean island nation's George Cross, granted to the country for its bravery during World War Two.
The fictional MP, Alistair Dodding who is said to represent the Welsh border town of Fwlleugh, has written to the Honours Forfeiture Committee demanding Malta's George Cross be removed as punishment for Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat's conduct during the Brexit negotiations.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments