When it comes to seasonal foolery between social media platforms, it’s hard to deny that Snapchat has gotten the better of Facebook. On Sunday, April 1―the rare instance when April Fools’ Day and Easter fall on the same day―Snapchat decided to take aim at its longtime competitor with a clever and biting joke, releasing a Facebook-style filter complete with Cyrillic-style text.
https://twitter.com/CaseyNewton/status/980341288753967109
Anyone who isn’t a Snapchat user might be feeling a little left out, but never fear, because there are plenty of pictures of the April 1 prank to fill in the gaps. The thrust of the joke is pretty obvious, given some of the blaring headlines Facebook has been fending off lately; the Cryillic-style font is an obvious reference to Russian bots operating on the platform, and the subtle little joke that the Snaps are liked by “your mom” is a jab at Facebook’s older user base.
Snapchat’s April Fools joke is a filter that dunks on Facebook’s Newsfeed, and I love it. pic.twitter.com/px7wHPM0EL
— Daniel Sinclair (@_DanielSinclair) April 1, 2018
Facebook has been weathering some difficult press coverage in recent weeks, thanks in large part to the bombshell Cambridge Analytica story, which after days of silence ultimately prompted an apology from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook and Snapchat also have a rather contentious relationship, according to reports, owing in part to Facebook increasingly adding Snapchat-style features to its platform.
Apparently, Snapchat decided to return the favor, with an April Fools’ joke that takes aim at Facebook’s iconic Newsfeed. It remains to be seen whether Facebook will hit back at Snapchat with a prank of its own, but it might be too late. After all, when it comes to colossal social media companies with millions upon millions of users, those who prank last do not necessarily prank best.