practical jokes - The Art of the Prank

December 19, 2025

Ethical Vacancy

What happens when AI’s lack of conscience converges with people with no conscience?

“The ‘AI Homeless Man Prank’ reveals a crisis in AI education,” by External Contributor, Digital Information World, December 14, 2025.

The new TikTok trend “AI Homeless Man Prank” has sparked a wave of outrage and police responses in the United States and beyond.

The prank involves using AI image generators to create realistic photos depicting fake homeless people appearing to be at someone’s door or inside their home. Learning to distinguish between truth and falsehood is not the only challenge society faces in the AI era. We must also reflect on the human consequences of what we create.

As professors of educational technology at Laval University and education and innovation at Concordia University, we study how to strengthen human agency — the ability to consciously understand, question and transform environments shaped by artificial intelligence and synthetic media — to counter disinformation. Read the whole article here.

April 1, 2024

How the Proliferation of Fake News Makes April Fools’ Day Every Day

5 tips for not getting tricked online this April Fools’ Day — and beyond
April 1, 2004, by Rachel Treismanm, NPR

Myths and misinformation run rampant on the internet all the time these days, but never more reliably than on April 1.

People have celebrated April Fools’ Day for centuries with all sorts of jokes and pranks, and while old-school traditions (hello, rubber snakes) remain plenty popular, gags have grown considerably more high tech over the years.

And fake news and announcements — whether by a major company, public figure, a random social media user or your childhood best friend — can take off quickly and morph wildly, thanks to social media.

It can be tough to tell whether something online is real, especially with artificial intelligence making it increasingly easy for anyone to create fake images, video, audio and text. Read the whole article here.

December 19, 2018December 15, 2023

Good Things Come In Ridiculous Packages

Not sure you’ll choose the perfect holiday gifts for your loved ones? It hardly matters when you use one of these goofy satirical packages.

“Hilarious Prank Gift Boxes Printed With Items of Questionable Taste That Hide the Real Gift Inside”
by Lori Dorn
Laughing Squid
December 4, 2018

Prank-O, a Minneapolis-based comedy company, has a hilarious line of fake gift boxes known as Prank Packs. These gift boxes are printed with items of questionable taste while hiding the real presents inside. Such absurd items include a Plant Urinal, a “Crib Dribbler”, “My First Fire”, “Bathe and Brew”, “Tech Neck”, “Tweet Printer” and “Sizzl Bacon Scented Dryer Sheets”, just to name a few. Read more.

May 21, 2017December 15, 2023

Doctor Humor

Because we could use something light-hearted…

“Laughter really IS the best medicine! Photos reveal the hilarious – and occasionally inappropriate – pranks that doctors pull on their patients”
by Martha Cliff
Daily Mail
May 4, 2017

Let’s face it, no one enjoys a visit to the doctors – however these GPs are determined to add some humour to their practice.

A collection of images compiled by BoredPanda has revealed the hilarious and sometimes wildly inappropriate gags pulled by medical professionals.

One sign pointed out to those complaining about waiting that they were the lucky ones as their condition doesn’t warrant them in danger enough to be seen first.

Another endearing photo sees a young girl playing a game of Operation with her nurse ahead of a serious operation.

So whether you deem these photos amusing or unprofessional – they were sure to ease the nerves of the patients. Read more.

August 19, 2016December 15, 2023

Late-night Devil Worship at the CERN?

Someone filmed a fake human sacrifice at CERN laboratory
by Amar Toor
August 19, 2016

Officials at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) have launched an internal investigation after someone filmed a fake human sacrifice ritual at its Geneva headquarters, home to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In the video, posted online this week, a group of people wearing dark robes stand in front of a Hindu statue before “stabbing” a woman, purportedly as some sort of ritual. It was filmed from afar, and the person who shot it pretended to freak out and ran away after the stabbing.

A CERN spokesperson tells the AFP that the prank video was shot without permission on its Geneva campus, and that the people who orchestrated it had badge access to the site. The spokesperson did not identify the people responsible for it, describing the investigation as an “internal matter.” Read the rest of the story here.