Dealing with April Fools’ jokes in sports media is a relatively tall task. It used to be easier to determine fact from fiction when blue check marks were an actual verification and not something anyone could obtain unless they paid $8 a month for it, but that’s neither here nor there.
While April Fools’ jokes were once lighthearted fun, the rise of rampant misinformation online has changed the game. Anonymous users exploit social media for engagement, blurring the lines between playful pranks and potentially harmful hoaxes. It’s no longer the innocent amusement it used to be.
And Overtime found that out the hard way.
In a since-deleted tweet, the sports media company — which is geared towards Generation Z sports fans — tweeted out an image of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark holding her elbow and said that the Hawkeyes superstar would be ruled out for Monday night’s Elite Eight showdown with Angel Reese and LSU.
https://twitter.com/WomensHoops_USA/status/1774846425538683020?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1774846425538683020%7Ctwgr%5E45b599d30c5e5b2a06f5a028eb2dedb47b4ce8ff%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Furl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FWomensHoops_USA%2Fstatus%2F1774846425538683020
Lighthearted gags, like a brand discontinuing a popular product or a player being traded to an unexpected team, can be fun for April Fools’ Day. However, there’s a clear line that shouldn’t be crossed. Jokes about injuries, especially in today’s world of rampant sports betting, are ill-advised at best and in poor taste at worst.
Even if the intent is to be humorous and not deceive, false information about a significant event like an Elite Eight matchup could inadvertently impact betting markets. And with all the controversy surrounding the sports gambling sphere, that sure sounds like the last scandal any of us need.
Even though we’re all aware of April Fools’ Day pranks, a surprising number of people on social media still fall for them. And that’s usually when a reputable brand — like Overtime — uses a visual to create a believable scenario.
In this case, a tweet with a graphic implying the absence of arguably the biggest star in women’s college basketball for a potentially historic game could easily mislead viewers. And it did for some, or probably caused a jump scare — at the very least — for others.
While it probably wasn’t meant to be in bad taste, that’s how it was received, which led to Overtime taking down the post altogether.
[Women Hoops Network on Twitter/X]
