It seems like it's getting harder and harder to tell fact from fiction these days.
After all, these are fact: A sitting American president just having attended a baseball game in Havana with one of the Castro brothers, a reality TV star being the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination and Justin Bieber not actively in legal trouble in any foreign country.
In an effort to navigate the pranks, puns and put-ons posted this April Fools’ Day, Fox News Latino combed the web looking for prank stories. Here are a few of our favorites. And remember that if a story seems too good to be true, it probably is.
The world’s second-largest theme park to be built in Cuba
The British don't fool around when it comes to April Fools’ Day pranks.
One of their esteemed news outlets was able to fool a Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. newspaper into doing its own version of a story about an unnamed U.S. company that had submitted an application to the Cuban government to construct what would be the world’s second-largest theme park.
“Challenging the size and scale of Dubailand, currently under construction in the emirate's desert, the park will be operated by a well-known, US-based giant and will feature several zones, including a waterpark, zoo and welcome area celebrating the island's culture, as well as six hotels, dozens of restaurants and retail outlets,” The Independent wrote.
Like any good joke, the Independent dabbled in bits of fact (“the closest Cuba comes to a theme park is The World of Fantasy, a state-run park on the outskirts of Santiago de Cuba”) with fiction (“Cuba's new addition will feature a rollercoaster with a whopping 15 inversions, an ice-maiden themed hotel, parades, shows and nightly firework displays”), but finally gives itself away when it mentions the that the theme park’s planned completion date is April 1 , 2021.
And, just in case that wasn't enough of a tip-off, the paper added the following update: "Update: Did you spot the opening date?"
Spanish Beaches to be patrolled by sunburn-spotting drones
Spain’s English-language news source, the Local, fooled a number of people with a story about how unmanned drones would be patrolling the beaches of the Iberian country outfitted with sensors that could monitor dangerously high skin temperatures on sunbathers.
When the drones detect a scorched subject, the article suggested, they report the information to lifeguards who would be dispatched to “save-pasty faced northern European holiday-makers from turning a nasty shade of lobster.”
To round out the hoax, the Local included fake quotes from Spanish officials and unflattering photos of tanned, Speedo-wearing sunbathers.
Hooters buys a private island off the coast of Mexico
This story was sent out as a prank press release by the chain restaurant that people always insist that they go to for the Buffalo wings.
According to the release, Hooters purchased an isle near the Numenor – purportedly off the coast of Mexico not the ancient home of men in Middle Earth – where the company plans to build a private, first-class beach resort and staff it with the world-famous Hooters Girls.
The restaurant chain also announced it was bringing back Hooters Air to handle travel accommodations to and from the island exclusively, with flights planned to and from Atlanta, Dallas and Davenport, Iowa.
The press release also referenced a fictional survey that found that 88 percent of male customers reported that the island resort "sounded like a good idea," and that nearly 40 percent of male and female customers said "it sounded like a fun place to visit."
Honorable Mention:
U.S. Army teleports a solider
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