On Friday, China’s Communist Party declared war against the most deviant of Western exports: April Fools’ Day.
"The so-called Western April Fools’ Day does not conform to Chinese cultural traditions or socialist core values," China’s Xinhua News Agency said in a brief statement on its website Friday.
The crackdown on April Fools’ Day appears to be centered on eliminating dangerous rumors at a time when Chinese leader Xi Jinping is said to be losing control of the country.
"Hope people won’t believe in rumors, start rumors or spread rumors," the statement read.
Not only are Chinese media outlets trying to deter rumors, there is an active effort by government-run media to purge the country of all Western influence. The People’s Daily and broadcaster CCTV have joined Xinhua as part of an official campaign by the Chinese Communist Party to rid itself of Western input, seen as challenging domestic political orthodoxy.
Western media outlets purport that these efforts include telling soldiers and Communist Party members to purge from their minds thoughts of human rights, freedom of speech, and separation of powers, although it is impossible to know if this analysis is itself the product of an April Fools’ Day joke.
There is another explanation for China’s media outlet refusing to accept April Fools’ Day – The Onion. It turns out Chinese officials are notoriously bad at differentiating joke and satire by Western media outlets.
Most famously, in 2012, the Chinese press reported as fact a story by The Onion that North Korean leader Kim Jung Un had been voted the "sexiest man alive." An article citing this "poll" appeared on the People’s Daily website alongside a photo spread of the North Korean dictator. Notably, that article was printed in November, not on April 1.
