The beginning of April Fools’ Day is uncertain. Some believe it began in 1582 when France changed from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian calendar. The start of the New Year on the Julian Calendar was April 1. Some people, unaware of the change, continued to celebrate the beginning of the new year under the old calendar. They were called April Fools.
Others believe that April Fools’ Day began with the Roman festival of Hilaria when people would wear disguises and mock others. There is also speculation that it came with the first day of spring when Mother Nature fooled people with unpredictable weather.
Whatever its start, April Fools’ Day has become associated with hoaxes played upon unsuspecting persons. The media has often used its voice to perpetrate false stories for fun.
April Fools’ Day has always been on April 1 of each year, but could that be changing? With an increase in conspiracy theories, media misinformation, and deceptive statements that go unchallenged, could we not think of April Fools’ Day as being a daily occurrence?
Artificial intelligence (also known as Abetted Ignorance) has the potential to make all of us Fools. Technology can now perpetuate hoaxes that are virtually impossible to detect. The fact that the words deep fake now exist gives further evidence that every day becoming April Fools’ Day.
Unfortunately, we have become more and more susceptible to these hoaxes. What began as harmless pranks have now become serious challenges to society. How long can a society be sustained when there are no consequences for made-up conspiracies, blatant lies, and carefully conceived distortions of the truth?
Whatever its origin, the evolution of the playfulness of April Fools’ Day has taken an ominous turn.
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“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain. And most fools do.” – Benjamin Franklin