Google decided to skip its traditional April Fools’ Day jokes and pranks across its platforms.
In fact, April Fools’ Day is an annual celebration for everyone in Google.
Google had started an experiment with April Fools’ Day pranks in year 2000 with the MentalPlex hoax.
And, the experiment was a great success.
There was no looking back for Google since then to celebrate the April Fools’ Day.
Also read: Fake news biggest roadblock in coronavirus fight: Home Ministry
Like Google, almost everyone across the globe decided to skip April Fools’ Day jokes and pranks this year.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken the world by a storm.
Every human being is scared of the ‘invisible killer’.
The global pledge to stay away from April Fools’ Day pranks is totally impromptu.
The #NoAprilFoolsDay pledge is trending.
On this April Fools’ Day, the world decided to stay away from the tradition to fool a person with a fake story.
The #NoAprilFoolsDay pledge is definitely noteworthy.
But, how many of us realize that all 365 days in a year have now become April Fools’ Day?
Every day, hundreds of #fakenews land in our inboxes.
And, a large section of our people consumes #fakenews. And, subsequently add off beam public opinion.
The menace of #fakenews is not only a problem for the developing countries, even the US is fighting a losing battle against it.
Also read: Mizoram HM warns against April fool prank amid COVID-19 scare
Posts from the websites of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the WHO received only 364,483 ‘engagements’ on the social media.
On the other hand, websites spreading misinformation or #fakenews on COVID-19 got 52,053,542 engagements on social media platforms.
And according to NewsGuard, the #fakenews on Covid-19 got 142 times more engagements than the two legitimate sources.
FAKE: HealthImpactNews.com, a health-related website on Feb 25, 2020 claimed that coconut oil is a possible treatment against #COVID19.
FAKE NEWS HAZARD: Nearly 500 people dead in Iran after drinking methanol to fight off COVID-19.
FACT: WHO says there are no vaccine and no specific antiviral medicine to prevent or treat #COVID19.
WHO does not recommend self-medication with any medicines, including antibiotics, as a prevention or cure for #COVID19.
The most effective ways to protect yourself #COVID19 are – frequently wash your hands and maintain a distance of at least one meter from people who are coughing or sneezing.
#CheckTheFake is a movement against #Infodemic in this crisis, initiated by Dr Anamika Ray Memorial Trust #ARMT (www.armt.in) in collaboration with Northeast Now (www.nenow.in) to create awareness on #fakenews on #Coronavirus and improve media literacy through #Cartoons.