Why April Fools' Day

I remember when April Fools' Day was a day in which tomfoolery could be indulged in, even at media outlets.  In one epic prank, the storied WLIR, a music station, had morning news briefs about an earthquake on Long Island, The first reports were brief and fragmentary, calculated to be plausible, even though no other media outlet was reporting on such a momentous occurrence.  Additional reports became more elaborate, and a narrative emerged that that shifted the borderline between Nassau and Suffolk counties... though such a line is an arbitrary mark on a map.  Subsequent reports contrasted the two counties, with reports that towns that had been shifted to Suffolk County were now inundated with flannel-wearing guys with questionable taste in music.  Individuals who had been listening to the morning show from the get-go eventually clued in that this was a prank, given the increasing outlandishness of the reports.

It was a brilliant prank, a harmless bit of satire on the demographics of the core listening area.  A good time was had by all, even those who were slow on the uptake.  It was a perfect April Fools' Day joke.

April Fools' Day just isn't fun anymore... disinformation, I would even use the neologism malinformation, is ubiquitous these days, and it is killing people.  Besides, what is the point of April Fools' Day when every day of the year is devoted to hoaxes and pranks?