No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchiveMedia Trick “Innocents” with Fake Reports

Media Trick “Innocents” with Fake Reports

THOSE watching Channel 7 TV onDec. 28 got to watch a breaking news storythat no other network or newspaper evercovered – because it never happened.The network, one of Costa Rica’sbroadcast news leaders, interrupted its regularlyscheduled programming to reportthat ex-President José María Figueres(1994-1998), who has refused to returnfrom Switzerland to defend himself againstallegations of corruption, had unexpectedlyarrived at Juan Santamaría InternationalAirport outside San José. On the screen,someone who appeared to be Figueres wasfollowed through the airport by reportersand hopped into a waiting car.HOWEVER, all was not as it seemed.Channel 7, which had hired a Figuereslook-alike for the segment, was participatingin the traditional Día de los Inocentes(Day of the Innocents), a tradition similarto April Fools’ Day.According to Channel 7 reporterFreddy Serrano, viewers weren’t the onlyones fooled by the trick. Tourists and otherpassers-by in the airport were also taken in.“Generally, the national media do sometype of joke so that viewers can laugh atthemselves,” he told The Tico Times in ane-mail.OTHER news sources in Costa Ricamade false reports on the 28th as well,including a radio station that reportedCuban President Fidel Castro had died.The Day of the Innocents serves as botha solemn commemoration of a Biblicaltragedy and an excuse for pranksters to letloose. It gets its name from King Herod’sslaughter of male infants in an attempt to killthe baby Jesus, but the tradition of playingpractical jokes on the 28th appears to berooted in the pagan holiday Fiesta de losLocos (Party of the Crazy Ones).The day is celebrated throughout LatinAmerica, with everyone from newspapereditors to heads of state getting in on theaction. The wire service EFE has reportedvarious pranks over the years. On Dec.28, 2003, Venezuelan President HugoChávez announced on live television thathe had decided to resign, causing a fewmoments of shock before he admitted itwas a joke.THIS year, Mexican papers fooledsoccer fans with fake headlines aboutmergers and coaching changes. The lastpage of the papers carried a messagewarning readers not to believe everythingpublished that day.The online version of Reforma, a paperheadquartered in Mexico City, carriedheadlines including “Bush Admits the WarWas a Mistake” and “Clinton Writes Bookon Fidelity,” as well as a story claimingthat President Vicente Fox had demandedthe U.S.-based Fox television network stopusing his name, the Dallas Morning Newsreported.

Trending Now

Guatemala Makes History as They Face USA in Gold Cup Semifinal Showdown

Desperate to show progress under Mauricio Pochettino, the United States is looking to secure a return to the CONCACAF Gold Cup final on Wednesday...

An Expat’s Take: 5 Burning Questions About Life in Costa Rica Right Now

Have you been keeping up with the various events taking place in Costa Rica? There is always something interesting going down, and here are...

A Costa Rica Love Story: From Rustic Cabina to Separate Dreams

My Tica wife and I have been together for over a quarter century. When we met, I was living a simple life here. Three...

Alligator Alcatraz: Trump’s Everglades Migrant Camp Draws Protests and Criticism

US President Donald Trump toured a new Florida migrant detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" on Tuesday, boasting about the harsh conditions and joking that...

Guatemala Offers Asylum to Nicaraguan Migrants Deported by U.S.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo announced on Friday that his country will grant asylum to Nicaraguan migrants deported by the United States who do not...

Costa Rica’s Piangua Mollusk Threatened by Pineapple Farm Runoff

Costa Rica’s Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland, a 33,000-hectare haven of mangroves and rivers, is under siege from an unlikely source: pineapple farms. A study by...
Avatar
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica