April Fool's Day: The best Scottish news media pranks, from Nicola Sturgeon's new career to 'Taps Aff' water

April Fool’s Day typically marks the day when pranks are played on unwitting suspects at home and in the workplace.

But there is a tradition in the UK media landscape of news titles also running an April Fool’s story - a breaking news headline that almost seems believable, but at the end of the day is just a bit of made-up fun.

Here, The Scotsman rounds up some of the best from today’s Scottish media news landscape.

Nicola Sturgeon’s singing career

Nicola Sturgeon’s post-politics career has been much debated, especially after the former first minister announced last month that she would not be standing at the next year’s Holyrood elections.

Nicola Sturgeon speaks to media outside her house near Glasgow. Picture: John Devlin | John Devlin/NationalWorld

And the Scottish Sun has had some fun with the concept, suggesting Ms Sturgeon will launch a new career as a singer.

While not at the Scottish Parliament, the news title says the ex-SNP leader has been slipping away for secret recording sessions with Eurythmics icon Annie Lennox.

‘Taps Aff’ Aldi water

Not content with Ms Sturgeon’s future career prospects, the Scottish Sun have also carried a story on major retailer Aldi launching a brand new alcohol alternative that is 100 per cent natural.

‘Taps Aff’ has been billed as the German supermarket’s new offering of Scottish bottled water, with claims the drink is being now sold in a handy, on-the-go format. But is this suggestion just a little too believable?

Police April Fool’s disclaimer

An interesting take from the Daily Telegraph, who appears to have played explicitly on the April Fool’s theme. The newspaper reports that police officers have been told to pre-empt concerns of pranks by saying “I am not a stripper hired by your mates”.

Perhaps not one that motorists or the public need to be on alert for.

Angela Rayner and timezones

Labour have not escaped the scope of April Fool’s prank stories. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is the subject of one from the Daily Mail, which reports Ms Rayner is suggesting she may be considering including time zone freedom in her workers’ rights plans.

Leveraging off the newspaper’s wider coverage of gender-related issues, the story claims campaigners for GMBST+ freedom want employees to be told they have a human right to choose which time zone suits them best each morning.

Edinburgh Castle’s new branding

The mocked up LinkedIn billboard in front of Edinburgh Castle | MediaBrave

Even PR agencies are getting into the spirit of April Fool’s Day. Creative agency MadeBrave has issued a release claiming social media platform LinkedIn will now lend its name to Edinburgh Castle, courtesy of a massive billboard at the iconic heritage attraction.

The sponsorship deal for the 900-year-old military fortification would certainly bring in some much-needed funding for operators Historic Environment Scotland, but may not quite be in the spirit of Edinburgh’s Unesco world heritage site status.