April Fools Day Inspires Fake Victor Cruz to 49ers Reports

December 3, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz (80) celebrates on the field against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Although reports in the early stages of free agency suggested that the New York Giants expected another team to sign restricted free-agent Victor Cruz to an offer sheet, Cruz’s astronomical contract demands have left him unsigned three weeks into the 2013 league year. By now, it’s all but certain that Big Blue’s salsa dancing sensation will return next season, either after signing his restricted free-agent tender or a reasonably priced long term contract.

However, that didn’t stop someone from falsifying this post that cited an unnamed league source that linked Giants wideout Victor Cruz to the San Francisco 49ers. On first glance, the report seems to be legitimate, until noticing that the “New Jersey Post” is not an actual news organization and that the author, Kenneth Dorsey, is not a real NFL reporter.

To take it one step further, the advertisements on the page made a mockery of the incredibly exploitative and “too good to be true” nature of modern day online advertising, while the links on the side of the page portrayed over-the-top faux news stories. That’s without even mentioning that the 49ers are in no position to acquire Cruz’s services for next season.

Although April Fools day is meant to be a fun experience, the social media age has evolved the day into a wake-up call for internet users. Even on a regular business day, there is always a wealth of misinformation on the internet. Whether it’s a reputable news organization reporting a story without all the facts in an effort to be first on the scene, or a biased organization attempting to sway the minds of the public, there are the possibilities of factual inaccuracies within every news story out there.

As a reader, it’s imperative to remain vigilant of where one receives his or her information. With fake twitter accounts, satirical websites and biased news agencies, it’s easy to get caught in the media whirlwind of false information. April Fool’s Day obviously magnifies this issues, but it’s something that happens on the other 364 days of the year as well.

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