April fooled... rap star falls for Attenborough spoof
THANKS to Donald Trump, fake news is very fashionable.
And from the remarkable discovery of a 360ft duck to Sir David Attenborough’s love of rap, there was no shortage of it making the headlines yesterday.
Helped by the rise of social media, the tricking of people with outlandish stories for April Fool’s Day was at an all-time high.
When the BBC tweeted that Sir David was going to star in a new documentary about grime music, one of the scene’s biggest stars, Stormzy, fell for it hook, line and sinker. BBC Three tweeted a picture of Stormzy and some of his friends with the broadcaster’s head superimposed on to one of the men. A caption read: ‘Now available on BBC Three, David Attenborough Life Of Grime’.
Stormzy, real name Michael Omari, sent a tweet in response saying: ‘They’ve been doing some dumb s***’, and told fans he’d sent the BBC a message ‘slewing them’. When the penny dropped, he tweeted: ‘Sis, it’s April fools, weve been punked. Fuming.’
The National Trust was responsible for one of the most elaborate hoxes. It tweeted: ‘Experts have discovered a second ancient work of art close to the famous White Horse – and this one’s a duck.’ In a video, experts explained how plans were in place to have the 360ft figure chalked out like the horse at Uffington, Oxfordshire. Meanwhile funeral price comparison website Funeralbooker revealed a home cremation service that it said would ‘set the industry alight’ by letting families say farewell to loved ones from the comfort of their own home.
Big brands also got in on the act. Coca-Cola unveiled a Helium range which makes drinkers speak in a high-pitched voice and Marmite announced a bland version of the spread, Meh-Mite, ‘that’s impossible to love or hate’.