Google Cancels April Fools’ Day Pranks Amid Coronavirus Crisis

Google isn’t celebrating April Fools’ Day this year, according to Mashable. The tech company reportedly notified employees in a recent internal email that its tradition of hiding hilarious jokes in its various products didn’t feel appropriate this time around.

“Under normal circumstances April Fools’ is a Google tradition and a time to celebrate what makes us an unconventional company,” Google Head of Marketing Lorraine Twohill wrote to company managers. “This year, we’re going to take the year off from that tradition out of respect for all those fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Our highest goal right now is to be helpful to people, so let’s save the jokes for next April, which will undoubtedly be a whole lot brighter than this one.”

As of Sunday night, more than 700,000 people are confirmed to have the coronavirus.