China: Don't Celebrate April Fools'

China has effectively banned April Fools' Day. The favorite day of pranksters "is not consistent with our cultural tradition or socialist core values," state news agency Xinhua says on social media site Weibo, per the Washington Post. "Hope nobody believes in rumors, makes rumors, or spreads rumors." The Shanghaiist notes the agency seems genuine since it isn't "exactly known for its sense of humor," and spreading rumors online in China can lead to a three-year prison term. Before the agency closed comments on the post, thousands poured in. "The media is publishing false news to fool people every single day, what difference is one more?" reads one. (More China stories.)