Journalists are used to being wary about odd pranksters pulling April Fool’s Day hoaxes at this time of year. Few expect it from a multi-billion dollar corporation.
Volkswagen admitted Tuesday that it had put out a false news release saying that it had changed the name of its U.S. subsidiary to “Voltswagen of America” in an attempt to be funny and promote a new electric utility vehicle.
Several news organizations, including The Associated Press, USA Today, CNBC and The Washington Post, had reported the original press release as real news, some after being assured specifically that it was no joke.
