canular

hoax, prank

noun kah-noo-LAR Rare

Usage Note

Canular typically refers to a deceptive hoax or elaborate practical joke, often in a media or online context. It is more associated with deliberate misinformation than with a light-hearted prank (farce or blague). The act of perpetrating one is faire un canular.

Examples

"Cette nouvelle virale était un canular."

Natural Translation

That viral news story was a hoax.

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