Today is, as we all know, April 1, and so we must sift
through our inboxes, news feeds, and information sources and decide what is
real and what is not. Each year there are some April Fools’ jokes that are
extremely clever. These jokes draw you in and even though you are well aware
what day it is, you nonetheless find yourself wondering if it just might be
true and how fantastic that might be.
This year, April Fools’ Day came early for some. If you are
a follower of world soccer, you may have heard about the French journalist who
fabricated a story about a dream soccer league that was to be set up by Qatar
in which the very best club teams from all over the world would compete for
untold riches. The story was meant to be a commentary on the ridiculous amount
of money floating around the global game and the lengths to which people (and
countries, in this case) will go to get a piece of that cash. The journalist’s
story was picked up by a renowned
English journalist working for one of the biggest newspapers in England. After
the fake nature of the original story came to light, he indicated that he had
corroborated the story with his sources before publishing it in the newspaper.
The two journalists have since been in a standoff as to whether the story is
true or not. Either way, it has all the hallmarks of a classic and well-thought
out April Fools’ joke . . . just a little early.
Continue reading “Doc Martyn’s Soul: April 1”
