YouTube users are a bunch of chumps. Google’s eight-year-old company teamed up with the Onion to create a star-studded April Fool’s joke. The video, featuring YouTube communications director Tom Liston and CEO Salar Kamangar, announced the site’s plans to go offline for good at midnight April 1, 2013. According to the video, YouTube was started in 2005 in order to find the best video in the world. Now that users upload more than 70 hours of footage per minute, it’s time to choose a winner. Every video ever uploaded will be reviewed by the staff of 30,000 technicians. Once submissions have been narrowed down, a panel of judges, including film critics, YouTube celebrities and prolific commenters will choose a winner, which will be announced when YouTube goes back on line in 2023 featuring the chosen video—and nothing else.

“Gangnum Style has the same chance of winning as a video with 40 views of a man feeding a duck,” Kamangar said.

“As promised, when YouTube started back in 2005, the winner will also walk away with an MP3 player that clips to your sleeve and a $500 stipend for your next creative endeavor,” Liston added.

The clip also features competitive remarks from personalities such as Antoine Dodson, iJustine, David After Dentist and Charlie and his brother.

“We are all storytellers — that is what pulled me into this contest,” said Dodson, known for the viral “Bed Intruder” Auto-Tune video. “I encourage everybody to watch as many videos as possible before YouTube deletes everything tonight.“

Obviously this was YouTube’s version of an April Fool’s prank. But what’s crazy is how many people fell for it. Even though the site plainly stated, “April Fool’s” if a viewer bothered to scroll down far enough below the video—not to mention how obvious it should be to anyone with an ounce of common sense—a ton of users commented their absolute horror at hearing the announcement.

“Why are you deleting all the videos on YouTube!!!!???? My friend and I are so mad!!!!!!!!” wrote TheLOLStar11.

“OMG YouTube is closing down OMFG no man what are we donna do, I come on YouTube like every day and watch 5-10 videos and it’s closing down, what am I going to do when it’s gone? It’s like my hom… OMG :(((” stated JediArroN.

And Dialga5718 added: “Wait, so help me wrap me head around this. They will turn youtube off until year 2023? For 10 years there won’t be youtube?”

Get with the picture, people!

And, a little off topic, but because we have t oout this sicko… If you scroll down through the user comments you will come to this one from MrTHERAPIST:

“I raped a little boy I hope no one sees this”

Say what? Somebody find out who this fucker is. And if that was your idea of an April Fool’s joke, MrTHERAPIST, it wasn’t funny.