SINGAPORE: In a digital age where fake news can spread far and wide, April Fool’s Day may be a good reminder to keep your guard up and be careful of stories that seem strange and suspicious.
This year, some companies have jumped on the April Fool’s bandwagon, putting their spin on what would capture your attention for a good laugh (or not). Here’s our wrap of the best pranks and fake news making their rounds this Saturday (Apr 1).
IKEA’S “PRESS-PLAY-GROUND”
In a Facebook post, IKEA Singapore declared that it will be converting the playgrounds in their stores into “a magical forest with a haven of sitting pods with tablets – recreating the way your kids play.”
You’ll be forgiven for thinking this was real. Many parents thought it was too, taking to social media to criticise Ikea for encouraging children to engage in more tablet time.
However, some saw it as a veiled message aimed at encouraging children to play less with their digital devices.
AMAZON TO LAUNCH IN SINGAPORE, MALAYSIA
In a bid to fool media outlets, Malaysian online shopping firm iPrice sent out a press release on Friday, announcing that Amazon is set to launch in Malaysia and Singapore.
It even made the effort to include a screenshot of what the homepages of Amazon Singapore and Amazon Malaysia would look like. New Straits Times Online and Techseen.com fell for it and published articles on the launch.
Already made plans to purchase a “merlion echo” for S$67.90 or access a Bomoh search engine for RM67.99 (S$21.46)? Sorry to ruin your plans but this is a hoax.
ARSENAL MANAGER TO COACH IN NEE SOON
Even politicians got into the mood for April Fool’s Day. Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam posted this message on Facebook which said: “As a long suffering Arsenal fan, I’m very happy to announce today that Arsene Wenger has agreed to become the new coach for the Nee Soon Football and Study Programme.”
“Fandi Ahmad who has been helping us, has agreed to this,” he added.
< Arsene Wenger joins Nee Soon Football Programme >
Minister Shanmugam wrote further down in his post that this was indeed an April Fool’s prank but pointed out that the Nee Soon football and study programme was genuine.
Wenger, under fire for leading the Premier League giant to a poor showing, remains at Arsenal – for now.
WHOPPER TOOTHPASTE ANYONE?
Fans of the Burger King’s whopper burger may now keep the taste of the signature burger in their mouths with the new Whopper Toothpaste, according to a video advertisement by the fast food giant.
The paste comes with “total whitening onion, daily fresh tomato and anticavity steak” and will keep users “whopper fresh”.
At the end of the flame-grilled gimmick, Burger King added that users should not use the toothpaste before 3pm and to consult the burger king restaurants before using.
PLAY PAC-MAN ON GOOGLE MAPS
Google Maps wants users to have a little fun. It launched an April Fool’s version of the map, allowing people to play the classic arcade game of Pac-Man.
Just tap on the pink Ms Pac-Man on the right side of the screen and you’ll be transported to a random location and must guide the yellow Pac-Man around the roads, eating up dots while avoiding colourful ghosts.
The last time Google turned its app into a game of Pac-Man for April Fools’ Day was in 2015. The year before that, it introduced a version of Google Maps that allowed users to catch Pokemons.
DURIAN BLACKCURRANT RIBENA
Ribena smelled an opportunity on April Fool’s Day, posting a photo on Facebook of a “lightly sparkling” durian and blackcurrent drink.
Some people were excited by the prospect of this weird and wonderful flavour but we say don’t hold your breath.
A dream come true – Sparkling Ribena Durian & Blackcurrant. Some will say they love it, some will say they don’t!
– CNA/am
