Google 's April Fool 's Day pranks are something most people eagerly await, and the company never seems to disappoint its users .
Unfortunately, this year, the pandemic has even affected this tradition, as Google decided not to hold April Fools' Day pranks due to the prevailing conditions.
According to an internal Google email obtained by Business Insider (via The Verge), the company has canceled any April Fools' Day pranks it was planning this year.
“We have already stopped our centralized April Fools’ Day efforts, but we realize there may be smaller projects within teams that we are not aware of. Please review these efforts and ensure your teams cancel any pranks they may have planned – internally or externally,” Google marketing manager Lorraine Twohill wrote in the email.
This decision was made as a sign of respect for those currently fighting the coronavirus , and the company has turned its attention to supporting this difficult work. Google has already stepped up its efforts to combat and reduce fake news about COVID-19.
To this end, the company canceled its annual Google I/O, skipped the release of the next update to Google Chrome , and created an online coronavirus tracker to provide the latest updates.
In the past, some of Google's April Fool's Day jokes have turned out to be quite true. The company has been playing pranks online since 2000.
In 2017, Google tricked its users about a new broadband service where people had to throw a fiber optic cable down their toilet and flush it to get free internet.
However, another prank by the company didn't go so well, with some people losing their jobs. Therefore, pulling this year's April Fool's Day at such a crucial time will avoid any confusion that might arise.
