On April 1, 2008, YouTube celebrated April Fools’ Day by linking every featured front-page thumbnail to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” It marked the moment internet memes became corporate culture.
On April Fools’ Day in 2008, YouTube redirected every featured video on its homepage to Rick Astley’s music video, transforming a niche message board prank into a global digital tradition celebrated every spring.