Why April Fool’s pranks are dangerous in the biz news business

Allen Wastler, the managing editor of CNBC.com, writes about why news organizations that write April Fool’s news stories are playing with fire.

Wastler writes, “You see, to some of us news is sacred. Yes, there are efforts to sex it up. Some outfits also like to push certain angles and points of view. But by and large most of us in this business understand the need to get the facts right and report what we believe to be true. Misinformation is the enemy. Credibility is our fortress. And April Fools’ Day is the yearly siege.

“In the latest round of battle, there were two breaches.

“One was a news story from TechCrunch proclaiming that Facebook was going to buy the app outfit “Bang With Friends” for $30 million. While there’s running debate about BWF’s validity in the first place, the dead giveaway appeared in the article’s third paragraph, which declared ‘robust staff penetration and rumors that Google is building a competitive hook-up platform called Google F*ck Now also hastened the deal.’

“The second incursion was a story from Edmunds.com about Tesla entering the Nascar race circuit. It, too, had some giveaways in the copy, not the least of which was the sponsorship of Duracell and the need for the Tesla car to play recorded Chevy Charger revving sounds to satisfy Nascar crowds.

“Both pieces were lighthearted, fun, and well-executed. The problem is where they were coming from…two websites that have strived, and succeeded to a certain degree, to be recognized sources of legitimate news.

“It’s dangerous to mix credibility and pranking for a couple of reasons.”

Read more here.