April Fool's Day: The best election spoofs
With 1 April coming just two days after campaigning officially got under way, political spoofs were inevitable.
Here is a selection of election-related April Fool's Day jokes:
Sun Nation, the newspaper's election website, revealed that Ed Miliband has secret plans to dye his hair blond. The Labour leader hopes to emulate Boris Johnson, it suggested, having seen his "blond bounce become political dynamite".
Mr Miliband also featured in a cheeky tweet from Channel 4 News political correspondent Michael Crick, who said sources had told him that Labour's leader held a three-hour meeting with UKIP counterpart Nigel Farage late on Tuesday.
Mr Farage corrected the journalist, saying the contenders had needed some notable snacks after the meeting went on for five hours.
The hot topics of debate at the alleged meeting? None really, according to LabourList website editor Mark Ferguson, who said the pair gave campaigning a break to unwind in front of the TV.
Clegg targets gay vote?
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg is reaching out to voters in an unconventional way, reported PinkNews. It said a profile for Mr Clegg had been spotted on Grindr, the popular dating app for gay men.
The website said a source close to the leader told them: "Nick has gone for a really hands on approach - and will be replying to all of the messages personally, no matter how raunchy."
The enemy within?
A Liberal Democrat intern caused a stir at the party's campaign office in Oxford, according to BBC South Today political correspondent Emma Vardy, after telling his colleagues he had been working for their main rival. Unfortunately he revealed the prank a little too late.
Controversial new tax?
Elsewhere, women's issue website Standard Issue Magazine reported that a UKIP candidate had called for a tax on childless women, dubbing it the Spare Womb Tax.
Political commentator Iain Dale joked that he was replacing Tory peer Lord Ashcroft in the House of Lords and would be taking on the title of Lord Dale of Leicester Square.
He denied the peerage was linked to his next book, David Cameron: Hero, Adonis, Possibly the Best Prime Minister in the History of Prime Ministers.
The Spectator got in on the act by exclusively revealing that Mr Clegg had enlisted the help of Lib Dem supporter and actor John Cleese. The magazine said the former Fawlty Towers star had been playing the role of Nigel Farage in sessions to prepare Mr Clegg for Thursday's debate.
Dave and Kim
But be warned - sometimes even the most bizarre of stories can turn out to be true, as pointed out by the BBC Magazine team.
David Cameron is a distant relative of American TV star Kim Kardashian, according to the Tory leader.
Asked by Heat magazine whether he liked to watch US show Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Mr Cameron said: "No, but I'm related to them. Did you know I'm 13th cousins with them?"
Any interest in a family reunion? "I have no plans at the moment!"