News flash!

Government launches new ‘Print Your Own Money’ website! Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink! Redcoat Holdouts Still Fighting American Revolution! Shaq Finds Mysterious Inscriptions Written On Basketball!

Sound a little fishy? But they are headlines! I found them on the internet!

In honor of April Fools Day I made this selection of headlines from fake news sites (plus the one that's linked—it's from a real site, but a very clever April Fools joke). Feel free to pass any of them on to gullible friends!

Fake news makes for great comedy, as fans of the Daily Show know. The Onion and NewsBiscuit are internet sites that churn it out, too. And while the news tidbits featured on NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, aren't fake, they're awfully funny and crazy enough to be fake. Fans of fake news will tell you, though, that the more real news you know, the funnier the fake stuff is—good motivation to keep current with current events.

Presumeably readers of and viewers of the foregoing know when they're hearing fake news, but what if you come across something you're not sure of? Snopes is a good site for sorting true from false stories, and Museum of Hoaxes has good stories about hoaxing as well. And there was an InBlume post a while ago with other ideas of places to check to debunk (or confirm) urban legends.

**************************************************

On a more serious note, a group of concerned bloggers have made a cute pun and are encouraging donations to local food banks today. Check it out at April Food Day. Many of these organizations are hurting due to increased demand for their services and reduced resources. The San Antonio Food Bank website gives you an easy place to join this effort—and if you want to help more, there's information on volunteering with them. InBlume is happy to do its blog-bit in this worthy cause.