April Fools’ Day pranks: fake Kirkilas resignation, left-wing flight, and Seimas chaos

Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) has revisited some of the most memorable April Fools’ Day hoaxes from past decades, when media outlets routinely tricked audiences with elaborate pranks—before the era of widespread disinformation made such jokes less common.

One of the most convincing stunts aired on April 1, 1993, when LRT reported that the Seimas (Lithuanian parliament) had adopted the litas as the national currency in an emergency session. The broadcast, featuring serious-faced politicians and journalists, sparked outrage among opposition lawmakers, who walked out in protest. In reality, the litas was introduced months later. That same year, LRT also falsely announced that the Seimas had resigned en masse due to flooding in Šilutė, with reporters interviewing “distraught” officials about the decision.

Other notable pranks included a 1995 report claiming LRT would be privatised and sold to a Lithuanian-American company, with journalist Vytautas Matulevičius named as its new director—a jab at the broadcaster’s financial struggles under political pressure. In 1996, viewers were told a woman had given birth to quintuplets weighing just five kilograms combined, while another segment that year “revealed” plans to reintroduce boat traffic on the Neris River, complete with dramatic (for the time) computer-generated visuals.

A 1997 report on the “legalisation of prostitution” went further, with journalist Julija Šliažienė claiming 333 “escort firms” were operating in Lithuania—13 of them licensed by the Ministry of Trade and Finance. Fake opponents in the segment initially condemned the move but “changed their minds” after learning it would generate $10 million annually for the state budget.

Such pranks were once a staple of April 1 programming, but LRT notes their decline in recent years, partly due to the rise of real disinformation. Today, the tradition lives on more through lighthearted public stunts—like free T-shirt giveaways, bed-slalom races on Gediminas Avenue, or Užupis declaring “independence”—rather than media-driven hoaxes.