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Google April Fools’ prank boomerangs

NEW YORK (AP) — Google is acknowledging that it pranked itself after an April Fools’ Day Gmail tweak angered some people who use Google’s email for work.

The company added a button to its email service that allowed users to fire out a minion GIF, a character from the animated film “Despicable Me,” which would drop a microphone and then mute responses to whatever email the user had sent.

The Gmail Help Forum on Thursday was soon populated by angry users who say they unintentionally attached a minion dropping a mic during important business communications.

Google Inc. apologized and turned off the feature, saying that due to a bug, the mic drop “inadvertently caused more headaches than laughs.”

***** Message from WTOP: Google’s April Fools' Day prank may not have gone over so well, but did you manage to pull one off? What’s the best April Fools' prank you’ve ever carried out or been subjected to? Share your stories with us by leaving a comment on this story, commenting on our Facebook post, sending us a tweet or emailing your story to talkback@WTOP.com.

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