Google Is Shutting Down YouTube In April Fool’s Prank
It’s the most annoying tradition in the tech world. Every April Fools’ Day tech companies and blogs spam the Web with pranks, phony reports, and fake product launches. And every April Fools’ Day, people get confused.
The company teamed up with The Onion to create a YouTube-star-studded video explaining how the site was set up as part of a contest to find the best home video on the Internet.
Google and YouTube got a head start this year, launching a new video that says YouTube is shutting down after 10 years. The gag is that YouTube was actually launched to find the world’s best video and there are finally enough submissions to pick a winner.
“We are so close to the end,” Tom Liston, communications director at YouTube, said in the video. “Tonight at midnight, YouTube.com will no longer be accepting entries. After eight amazing years, it’s finally time to review everything that has been uploaded to our site and begin the process of selecting a winner.”
YouTube said every video on the site will be reviewed by a panel of judges and it will take 10 years to watch them all. The winner will be announced in 2023, when the site finally comes back online.
The winner will get an MP3 player and a $500 creative stipend for their next creative project.
“I encourage everybody to watch as many videos as possible before YouTube deletes everything tonight,” said Antoine Dodson known for the viral “Bed Intruder” Auto-Tune video.
YouTube added a live stream of two faux presenters announcing “Best Video” nominees, which will run on the site for 12 hours. Although the stream will start out with the feel of an Emmys or Oscars presentation, it’s expected to get a little bit kooky and stranger as the day goes on, in an attempt to make the prank more believable.
Check the whole thing below, and hope along with me that this isn’t the only April Fool’s gag Google is pulling.
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