“April Fools” does not fit with the country’s traditions or align with socialist values, state media Xinhua said Friday. The news service was succinct and serious in a brief Weibo post: “We hope that people do not believe, create, or spread rumours.”
The one-liner was shared over 8,600 times by 1pm.
“This is the funniest thing today,” said one Weibo user. “Today is April Fools, I’m giving this piece of news 1,200 likes,” said another.
“I was born in the right country. I have April Fools every day, I’m very happy,” said one. Another said: “I am relieved by the comments.”
After 1pm Xinhua blocked users from commenting and hid shares on its post on Weibo, but some responses to the announcement were still visible via other news media company’s accounts.
