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Taylor Swift performs during the first night of the Eras tour in Australia in February. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
Taylor Swift performs during the first night of the Eras tour in Australia in February. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

April Fool’s day: can you spot the news fakes? Take our quiz

This article is more than 1 month old

Take our fun test to see how good you are a spotting the fake news hidden among the real headlines

In an age of global concern about AI-driven internet disinformation, the traditional humble newspaper April Fool story sometimes seems like an anachronism from a gentler time. But how good is your nose for the news truth? Below are 20 stories from the past year. Some are true, some are made up and some almost happened but have been twisted to be untrue. How will you fare spotting them?

The Guardian 2024 April fools news quiz

  1. 1.Meghan Markle was criticised after it was revealed that when you put her lifestyle brand name – American Riviera Orchard – into the What3words location service, it points to a statue of Oliver Cromwell, who famously had a King Charles executedMeghan, Duchess of Sussex
  2. 2.Greg Wallace presented a "documentary" called the British Miracle Meat, which – unknown to the audience as it was being broadcast – was a spoof about eating lab-grown human meat?
  3. 3.Laurence Fox called for a boycott of Nike products over the design of the latest England football shirt, while wearing Nike trainers
  4. 4.Liz Truss said that her brief time in office as prime minister had been defeated by "the left-wing economic establishment"Liz Truss
  5. 5.The Victoria & Albert museum tried to end a controversy about listing Adolf Hitler and Margaret Thatcher together as villains who had been parodied by puppets by adding Nick Clegg and Simon Cowell to the listMargaret Thatcher
  6. 6.Australian politician Bob Katter was filmed lying on his back on a Canberra footpath at night with his feet in a planter, while swearing into his phone
  7. 7.Nigel Farage launched his own brand of Scotch whiskyGlass with a drink
  8. 8.Some religious types have criticised Taylor Swift for repeatedly making a hand gesture that symbolises the horns of Satan during her concertsTaylor Swift
  9. 9.Australian punk band Private Function claimed to have released a limited edition version of their album on urine-filled vinyl
  10. 10.Former prime minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern put her name forward to be the next head of Nato, even though New Zealand is not in the alliance?Jacinda Ardern
  11. 11.Tesco has come under fire on social media after it rebranded its Easter eggs as "springtime chocolate treats"
  12. 12.In the UK, the ruling Conservative party had to withdraw an attack advert about the mayor of London because it featured scenes of a crowd panic from New York
  13. 13.After three Grand Slam singles and two Olympic gold medals, Andy Murray finally announced his retirementAndy Murray
  14. 14.Donald Trump recently proudly announced that he had won the club championship trophy and the senior club championship trophy at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm BeachDonald Trump
  15. 15.The UK government has spent about £25bn on a high-speed train line from Birmingham to London, but due to rising costs, it is now expected to terminate at Hendon Parkway in north London, seven miles from central London.
  16. 16.The Guardian once published an entire April fool supplement that was a travel guide to the entirely fictional island of Verdana Grande
  17. 17.A zoo in China was forced to insist that its bears were real bears, and not just people in bear costumes, after photos of them standing up on their hind legs went viralA bear
  18. 18.Rudy Giuliani has ended up working as a legal adviser for the Four Seasons Total Landscaping store where he held a famous press conference in November 2020Four seasons time
  19. 19.A sea otter named 841 went viral after it was filmed harrassing swimmers and surfers and trying to steal surf boards
  20. 20.Emmanuel Macron was filmed chugging a bottle of beer down in 17 seconds in a rugby dressing roomEmmanuel Macron

As a reward for your endeavours, here is two minutes of Jonathan Frakes repeatedly telling you “It’s fake news” in a supercut of his Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction show. Enjoy!

Jonathan Frakes telling you you’re wrong for two minutes
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