Tech brands in China refuse to let Covid-19 dampen April Fools’ Day

April Fools’ jokes are an annual tradition for brands around the world. And while some like Google have opted out this year amid a deadly pandemic, a handful in China won’t let their pranks go to waste.

Oppo claimed on Weibo that it’s launching a new phone called the Oppo Ace Infinity that’s equipped with FreeVOOC -- a wireless technology that charges your battery over the air within 10 meters. Zhihu, a Q&A site similar to Quora, introduced B-hu -- a geek-focused platform that is an unmistakable nod at anime video giant Bilibili. Xiaomi took the chance to promote its new Mi 10 phone, writing on Weibo that it doesn’t participate in #AprilFoolsDay because it’s “the real deal.”

We’ll let you decide whether these jokes deserve a chuckle, but some other pranks definitely aren’t funny. Authorities worldwide have warned people against sharing Covid-19-related rumors on April 1. Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen took to Facebook to remind citizens that spreading misinformation about the virus is punishable by law. It happened before in Hong Kong: During the Sars outbreak in 2003, a teen was arrested for creating a fake news website that triggered mass panic, forcing government officials to clarify the site was fake.