The April Fool’s Day Parade gets the NYT Treatment

The Annual April Fool’s Day Parade has long been among Joey Skaggs’s most highly visible projects.


“A Fool’s Parade”
by Alexandra S. Levine
The New York Times
April 1, 2016

You”ve heard of the St. Patrick”s Day Parade, right?

Macy”s Thanksgiving Day Parade? Of course.

But the April Fools” Day Parade?

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The procession is expected to file from 59th Street and Fifth Avenue down to Washington Square Park, beginning at noon, rain or shine.

Organized by the New York April Fools” Committee, the spectacle is intended to poke fun at public figures “” celebrities, politicians, executives and anyone else who has proved deserving of caricature.

“Nothing is sacred. Our satire knows no bounds,” the committee said in a statement, adding, “The Parade Committee assumes no liability for damages caused by satire.”

Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, (a look-alike, of course) leads the parade, sitting atop a ballistic missile float.

The “Hypocrisy and Democracy” float features presidential candidates yelling confusing speeches at passers-by.

And Kanye West rides the “Infinity Mirror” float, because, well, organizers think he could stare at his own reflection until the end of time.

Just kidding.

To all of the above.

The nonexistent parade is solely a fixture in the imagination of the New York artist Joey Skaggs, a prankster who creates elaborate hoaxes as a form of social activism.

He”s blasted out news releases, posted videos and has managed to get his April Fools” Day Parade website appearing near the top of search engine results.

“It”s a mystery to me how we continue to enable fools to make fools of us,” Mr. Skaggs said.

Touché.


Two Guys Build a Wall Around Trump Tower

Some artists build bridges and others are intrigued by the walls that divide humankind. In response to Donald Trump’s plan for a wall along the Mexican border, The Good Liars propose a wall around Trump’s own property… you know, to keep in the “assholes.”

h/t HuffPo.

CNN Weighs In on Online Hoaxes

From Joe King:


2013: The Web’s year of the hoax
by Doug Gross
CNN
December 4, 2013

News alert: Some things you read on the Internet are not true.

As obvious as that may seem, and as savvy as you’d think we’d be a decade after deposed Nigerian princes began e-mailing us with the promise of vast riches, 2013 has turned out to be the Year of the Online Hoax.

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And, guess what? Most of us seemed to love every minute of it.

In just the past week or so, the Web has been duped by the viral rise of a snarky Thanksgiving Day airplane spat, a not-so-poor poverty blogger and a Twitter feud between a comedian and a salsa company.

And it’s no accident. Media experts say there are multiple factors at work when these sweet little lies rocket across the Web in what feels like mere minutes.

Continue reading “CNN Weighs In on Online Hoaxes”

Banksy’s Prank TV Special, The Antics Roadshow, to Air in the U.S.

Revised May 30, 2012 (original post, August 16, 2011):


Joey Skaggs is featured in Banksy’s first television special “The Antics Roadshow.” Originally broadcast in the UK on August 13, 2011, it premieres on Logo TV, Saturday, June 2, 2012 at 8/7c.

Watch a promo here:

Or, follow this link to the doc”s page on the Logo TV website, where you”ll be able to watch the entire thing early next week.


Related link:

  • Banksy”s Antics Roadshow Premiered on Channel 4 in the UK Saturday, August 13, 2011

  • April Fools’ Day 2011 Prank Survey

    April Fools’ Day 2011
    Metro.co.uk
    March 31, 2011

    April Fools’ Day: Top five April Fools’ Day jokes in sport ever: For some, April Fools’ Day is all fun and high jinx, but for others it’s just those with no sense of humour playing along with the rest of the human race. At Metro we thought we’d celebrate five of the best sporting April Fools’ jokes of all time.


    Top 5 YouTube pranks: To celebrate April Fools’ Day this year, we’ve had a look back at some of the best YouTube pranks to cross our jape-loving paths.


    April Fools’ Day: Joke ideas to play on your work colleagues and friends: It’s April Fools’ Day and once again workers around the country will be playing a host of tricks on their colleagues and friends. If you’re short on prank ideas, read on for Metro’s guide to the best jokes to play.


    April Fools’ Day movie special: Top 5 ill-advised film pranks: It”s the week of April Fools” Day and innocent pranks are very much the order of the day. We bring you our five best film pranks.