For many years it has been a tradition in the press to sneak in a hoax news on 1 April to fool and amuse readers, listeners and viewers. One of the most famous jokes was printed in Aftenposten, where people were lured to the Vinmonopolet with empty pails and buckets to get almost free wine. But several media players have put the tradition on the shelf because fake news makes it difficult to see what is true and what is not. But you can expect April fools among newspapers this year as well, according to a survey carried out by news and the National Association of Local Newspapers (LLA). Klassekampen: – Trains ability One of them is Klassekampen, which today announced that Høgre politician Nikolai Astrup is moving to Switzerland after the government’s announced ban on au-pairs. Nettavisen, VG, NTB, Avisa Oslo, BT and Adresseavisen reported the news shortly after midnight. A few hours later, the news report was withdrawn. Last year, neither news, TV 2, VG, Aftenposten, Dagbladet nor Dagens Næringsliv had April fools. But the Klassekampen was one of those that was also played last year. So it was a joke that they were going to change their name to KK24 and drop the editorials. Photo: Siv Dolmen / Klassekampen But the fact that several players in the press have shelved the tradition did not stop them last year. – I think that if there is something that trains the ability to recognize the formality of a case and that it is nonsense, then it must be that you have some days like this where you have to be a little extra observant, says an editor in Klassekampen, Marie Skurdal. And add: – Perhaps it can contribute to the opposite, that one becomes a little more vigilant, says Skurdal. VG: – It is wise to stay away VG does not have a tradition of making April Fools’ Day disguised as news in VG, news editor Tora Bakke Håndlykken tells. – In a time of constant discussions about fake news, we think that VG as a news provider would do well to stay away. Because it can affect VG’s trustworthiness, they have chosen to leave the April Fool’s Day to other fun groups. – Even though April fools are completely harmless fun and usually hit the spot, we still run the risk that some readers won’t understand the joke or that we miss the point, says Håndlykken. Still creating April fools news, in collaboration with the National Association of Local Newspapers, has asked several newspapers if they still create pranks for April Fools’ Day. Out of 110 respondents, 10 asked that they still make April 1 jokes. According to Mari Velsand in the Norwegian Media Authority, many people struggle to distinguish fake from real news. Photo: Mathias Fossum / Norwegian Media Authority According to their research, seven out of ten have experienced coming across information online that they doubted was true. Older and younger people are most at risk. Velsand understands that press actors do not want to make April Fools’ jokes, because editor-controlled media depend on having the public’s trust. – It can be difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood, and April Fools can make it even more demanding to navigate the news landscape. – Will the Norwegian Media Authority warn Norwegian media against creating their own 1 April jokes for publication digitally and on paper? – This is a question that the media themselves must decide on. Norwegians have a high level of trust in editor-controlled media. The Norwegian Media Authority’s latest survey of people’s news habits shows that 73 per cent have a fairly high level of trust in Norwegian news media in general. An important backdrop, Velsand explains, is that editor-managed media are trustworthy and publish quality-assured information that can be trusted. – In general, fake news can weaken trust, even if the intention and thought behind it is basically harmless. – Fake news is a problem For many people, fake news, hacking and artificial intelligence have become familiar terms. At the same time, fact-checking and quality assurance of information have become even more important. Editor-in-chief of Store norske lexikon, Erik Bolstad, thinks fake news is a problem. But it is more nuanced than that. Photo: Arild Sandsvik / news – We see that the use of SNL is much higher now than ever before, says Bolstad. According to Bolstad, 270,000 sets of the paper encyclopedia were sold over the course of thirty years. Today, SNL has 600,000 read articles every day. The younger ones are most critical of sources – So the willingness to check facts and knowledge is now incredibly much higher than before because it is so easily available. 85 percent of us who watch TV lie with our mobile phone in hand and check something we have seen at the same time. For example, reading about Norwegian oil history exploded on SNL when the TV series Lykkeland aired on news. – We look things up and check things all the time. So awareness around reading and acquiring knowledge is now higher than before. It’s incredibly nice, actually. When SNL measures people’s familiarity with SNL, they see that it is very high among the youngest. Among 15 to 18-year-olds, SNL has reached 90 per cent familiarity. Among the oldest, however, fewer know that they exist. – There is definitely a generation gap. It is the opposite of what many people think. The youngest are certainly the most critical of sources.
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That’s why most newspapers drop the joke until April 1 – news Nordland
