The news that wasn’t
April Fool’s hoaxes as journalistic science fiction
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/journalistica.v20i1.160487Keywords:
April Fool’s, news hoax, journalistic fiction, science fictionAbstract
This article examines April Fool’s stories in Danish national newspapers from 1980 to 2024, arguing that they function as a form of journalistic science fiction. While April Fool’s traditions have often been studied as ritualized interpersonal jokes, their mass-media counterparts operate as widely broadcast textual artifacts that blend news with imaginative speculation. Through a systematic survey of 80 April 1st hoaxes published in three major newspapers, combined with three in-depth textual analyses, the article identifies structural and thematic parallels with science fiction, including the use of a novum, cognitive estrangement, and extrapolation. The three case studies furthermore demonstrate how these pranks critique social norms, political institutions, technological developments and media practices. The analysis positions April Fool’s stories as a hybrid genre – combining elements of news reporting, humor, and fiction – and illuminates the role of imaginative journalism in navigating uncertainty. In doing so, it calls for a more nuanced understanding of April Fool’s stories as a legitimate mode of journalistic engagement with social reality, offering a timely reappraisal of the tradition at a moment when many news organizations are abandoning it in response to concerns about misinformation.
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