Kildare Now criticised for 'tasteless' jihadi April Fools' prank
April Fools' Day can be a difficult day on the internet with a myriad of clearly nonsensical posts mixed in when others that you’re just not sure of. And then there are the stories that seem to cross the line into bad taste.
Which is what seems to be the verdict on Kildare Now's April Fools offering.
Posted on their website early this morning, the faux-news story reports that a jihadist named Paddy Jihaddy has planted explosives in the Allen area and has renamed the site "the Hill of Allah.”
Also included is a doctored image showing an Isis-style flag flying over the tower.
The reaction so far online has not been good, with outlets such as the Huffington Post calling the prank ‘tasteless’ and others pointing to it as an example of how not to do an April Fools' joke.
And the award for most tasteless #aprilfoolsday 'gag' goes to... https://t.co/VF8qWQ69vw pic.twitter.com/k0mYYODjQw
— HuffPost UK (@HuffPostUK) April 1, 2016
Oh no, KildareNow. Oh no. No. No. No. https://t.co/LSv9YuqaSl
— Susan Daly (@BiddyEarly) April 1, 2016
Slightly dodgy April Fool's joke there, @KildareNow!!! https://t.co/e7wHbAuh8Z
— Niall O’Keeffe (@NiallOK) April 1, 2016
Oh no... how did nobody see this was a terrible idea? https://t.co/Tdd11vL2rU
— Stephen with a v (@steveohrourke) April 1, 2016
When April Fools jokes aren't done well... https://t.co/72pxcgMrBi Eeek
— Will O'Callaghan (@willocallaghan) April 1, 2016
Nothing says lol #aprilsfools like terrorism and Isis. Thank you Kildare local news. https://t.co/KQKLDrnl3K pic.twitter.com/6DJrwoSIZx
— Felicity Morse (@FelicityMorse) April 1, 2016
What are your thoughts?
Breakingnews.ie has reached out to Kildare Now for comment.
Kildare Now have issued an apology for the post on their site, saying that it was "completely unauthorised".
They also write they have removed the story and the social media links completely.
Their clarification in full:
"An article and a photoshopped photograph was posted on KildareNow this morning purporting to be an April Fools Day-type story.
KildareNow would like to immediately distance ourselves from this posting and point out that the story was completely unauthorised and was not posted by a member of the editorial team.
The article and photograph have both been completely removed from the Kildare Now website and our Facebook and Twitter accounts.
But we understand 'screen grabs' of the offending post is appearing on social media which is causing upset but unfortunately we have no control over this.
KildareNow would like to apologise unreservedly to everybody who was rightly offended by the article which was extremely insensitive especially in light of recent tragic events in Brussels and elsewhere.
A full internal investigation is now underway into how the KildareNow site was accessed by an unauthorised person in this way."
