The New York Times reported today that Congress was poised to eliminate tuition at all public universities.

But don’t be too hasty in cashing out of your college-savings plan.

That free newspaper being handed out to commuters in several U.S. cities was, in fact, a spoof edition of the Gray Lady, dated July 4, 2009, that imagines a progressive paradise with salary caps on executive pay, the end of the war in Iraq, and treason charges against President Bush.

Among the faux headlines were a few that probably turned heads in the world of education: “Harvard Will Shut Business School Doors,” “USA Patriot Act Repealed,” and “Education Department Plans National Tax Base for Schools.”

The real New York Times reported on its City Room blog that the clever replica was apparently the work of the Yes Men, a group of liberal pranksters well known for carrying out complex hoaxes.

Two years ago, members of the group infiltrated a conference at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where they suggested “re-branding Africa’s image” and employing “full private stewardry of labor” (essentially suggesting a return to slavery). Wharton was not amused.

Neither, initially, was the Times about today’s spoof.

City Room quoted Catherine J. Mathis, a Times spokeswoman, as saying: “This is obviously a fake issue of The Times. We are in the process of finding out more about it.” —Don Troop