Life
Generally, I make a note to not believe anything interesting that anyone tells me on April 1. If it's April Fool's Day, nothing is credible. But when you live in a world where literally every single day that you sign online, there's something seemingly unbelievable to read, it can be hard to tell. For this reason alone, playing pranks online is easily the best way to play pranks in the year 2019. So, I've pulled together a selection of millennial-friendly April Fools' Day jokes for Instagram. Because while placing cellophane over your roommate's toilet is surely a timeless gag, tricking your followers into believing something totally ridiculous goes a lot farther.
Seeings as humor has a deeply personal and subjective range, I've listed a wide selection of ideas for you to dabble with. From the faux news clipping to the hilariously edited image, there's a lot you can do with a simple post. What's more, instead of pranking one person at a time, the old fashioned way, you can prank all of your friends at once. In essence, the Instagram April Fools' joke is easily the prank of the future. Happy fooling, and prepare yourself for the flack, as no great joke goes without a hitch.
Fake Reaction To Fake Spoiler
You know when something epic happens on a TV show that you haven't seen yet, and you go on Instagram and everyone's talking about it and having huge reactions and ruining it for you? Fake a spoiler and stress the hell out of your followers.
Photoshop The News
Find a news story that suits you and add your face and name to it, and then share it on Instagram. The more believable the better for this kind of prank, as your friends are more likely to know it's a joke if you edit yourself into a presidential candidacy announcement than some kind of celebrity coupling announcement.
Faux Vacation
This is a harmless prank that won't do anything other than make your friends jealous for a hot minute. Photoshop yourself into a faux vacation hotspot and share a post about how much you're enjoying your impromptu getaway.
Fake Wildlife Spotting
Find a picture of a wild animal online that was taken with a mobile phone so that the quality makes sense, and share it on your Instagram, claiming that you're currently in the presence of an epic animal. Pro tip: Bears, mountain lions, rattle snakes, and wolves are the most believable sightings to report if you live in the US.
Almost Share Something Exciting
You know how celebrities and influencers tease out their news, far before they're allowed to share it, a la "I can't say much yet, but BIG ANNOUNCEMENT coming soon!" — tease out your own fake announcement. Every few hours, tell your friends and followers that it's almost time for you to share some epic news. Drive them crazy with curiosity and anticipation and then say "APRIL FOOLS."
Turn Your Stories Into Ghost Stories
This might take a little bit of planning and pre-recording, but you can totally Blair Witch the hell out of your friends. Film some shaky, breathy clips, and post them on April Fool's Day to see who falls for whatever ghost story you've concocted.
Fake A Hilarious Sponsorship
Everyone's an influencer these days, so this might be easier to pull off than you think. Instead of posing with some chic tea blend, pick something less glamorous like an anti-fungal cream or mucus-fighting medication. Don't forget: #ad #spon
Faux Bang Reveal
There are a few super easy-to-fake bang hacks that can give you a very believable fringe if you want to gently prank your friends. But if you have access to clip-in bangs or hair extensions, snap a picture of yourself sporting extremely short and heavy bangs — the more uneven and chunky the better — and pretend to earnestly debut them online. Aka, see which of your friends is nice enough to lie to you and share a compliment.
