A day that started well did not end well for a journalist who played the joke of the century on April Fools.

April Fools is a day set aside where people can play jokes and pranks on one another up until noon when the time is up for pranking people.

Some jokers have succeeded in pulling the jokes of a lifetime that generate laughter for years to come.

However, some jokes go too far to the point where they require national security agencies to debunk them.

Grammy-nominated Nigerian singer Davido was a victim of foul joking after a Kenyan news outlet claimed he was arrested over drug possession.

The joke took a serious turn for the worse. The Kenyan media outlet came out to debunk the news update as a prank for April Fools.

However, the damage had already been done and DCI Kenya was already involved in calling out the prank over the severity of its allegation.

Here are four Jokes to avoid on April Fool’s Day to avoid national shame and in the best-case scenario, avoid legal prosecution. 

ALSO READ: DCI distances itself from Davido April Fool’s prank gone wrong

Avoid Media jokes

American Journalist Homer Cilley lost his job after playing a national prank on April Fools Day of a mountain eruption.

The joke played file footage of another mountain erupting and once the story was out, it created national panic.

Ironically, most viewers never watched the story to the end where it stated that the report was a joke for April Fools.

Homer Cilley was eventually fired for creating panic, which forced the government to debunk and calm residents down.

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Robbery jokes

If you shared with a friend one-on-one that you just got robbed, the joke might be convincing to your friend.

However, that is not the case when you decide to play the same joke on your boss about his business.

A couple of jokers in 2003 working in a clothing store decided to call their boss and share that the store was being robbed at gunpoint.

Before they could tell their boss it was all a joke, officers had already arrived expecting hostility from the nonexistent robbers.

Officers arrested the store’s employees for creating panic in the town and wasting law enforcement resources over a false alarm.

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Murder jokes

There is no shortage of ideas on all the wrong things to not joke about. Murder is one of them.

In 2013, a lady by the name of Susan Hudson from America, called her sister to confess that she had just shot her husband.

During her prank call to her sister, she shared that she was cleaning up the mess and needed assistance disposing of the remains.

Blood is thicker than water until it involves a homicide. Susan’s sister reported the matter to the police and Susan was arrested.

Fortunately, Susan was released after her husband arrived to bail her out alive and unharmed.

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Public figures reputation

Grammy-nominated Nigerian artist Davido has been a victim of the 2024 jokes in Kenya after arriving for a festival performance. 

A Kenyan news outlet published a story claiming that Davido had been arrested for possession of cocaine at the airport found in his jet.

The joke turned sour when authorities debunked the story as “fake news” via their social media handles.

Unfortunately, the damage had been done and several news agencies had picked and ran the story as credible for hours before they caught on that, it was a joke.

It is uncertain whether Davido will take legal action based on the severity of the allegations made in the story.

Have you ever played jokes on your friends on April Fools Day?

ALSO READ: Davido seeking legal action against media outlets for April Fools drug arrest joke