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Google Announces YouTube Shutdown In April Fool's Prank

SAN JOSE (KCBS) - Google may have pulled off its most elaborate April Fool's Day joke yet, sending loyal and occasional users into a tizzy when the search giant announced over the weekend that it was shutting down its wildly popular video streaming YouTube site.

The company posted an elaborate video over the weekend suggesting that YouTube was nothing more than an 8 year project to find the best video upload in the world. The online message went on to say that it was time for the company to shut down YouTube and review all material to determine a winner.

The video went so far as to encourage the public to "watch as many videos as possible before YouTube deletes everything tonight."

April Fool's Day Joke or the End of an Era? Google Claims It's Pulling the Plug on YouTube

As of Monday morning, the company hadn't officially revealed the video was a hoax. But, it was dated April 1, 2013 - April Fool's Day. Google is known for pulling public April Fool's Day jokes.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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