A History of Fake Media

The Great Moon Hoax (1844): The New York Sun announced that the British astronomer Sir John Herschel had discovered life on the moon by means of a new telescope "of vast dimensions and an entirely new principle." Creatures supposedly seen by Herschel included lunar bison, fire-wielding biped beavers, and winged "man-bats." The public was fascinated. It took several weeks before they realized it was all a hoax.

The Petrified Man (1862): Nevada's Territorial Enterprise reported the discovery of a petrified man in nearby mountains. The body was in a sitting posture, leaning against a rock surface to which it had become attached.

The Traveling Stones of Pahranagat Valley (1867): Journalist Dan De Quille published an article about some unusual stones discovered in Nevada. Whenever separated from each other, the stones spontaneously moved back together. The article was a joke, but De Quille discovered that a lie once told cannot easily be untold. Years later, despite confessing to the hoax, he was still receiving numerous letters from people around the world wanting to know more details about these traveling stones.

The Bigamist of San Bernardino (1873): On December 16, 1873 the Los Angeles Evening Express published an article describing a man in San Bernardino who, because of a loophole in the law, was legally allowed to remain married to two women, despite the efforts of townsfolk to force him to divorce at least one of his wives. News of the case caused an uproar in California. However, the story was entirely fictitious, as the Evening Express revealed two weeks later. Unfortunately, the retraction was not as widely publicized as the original story, and so the case made its way as fact into a number of legal textbooks.

The Man-Eating Tree of Madagascar (1874): On April 28, 1874, the New York World ran an article announcing the discovery in Madagascar of a remarkable new species of plant: a man-eating tree. The article included a gruesome description of a woman fed to the plant by members of the Mkodos tribe. Numerous newspapers and magazines reprinted the article, but 14 years later the journal Current Literature revealed the story to be a work of fiction written by NY World reporter Edmund Spencer.

The Global Warming Hoax of 1874: In early February 1874, the Kansas City Times ran a story claiming that scientists had discovered that the transatlantic telegraph cables were acting like enormous electromagnets, pulling the earth into the sun. Calculations indicated that if the earth's current trajectory continued unchecked, Europe would become tropical in 12 years, and the entire earth would be uninhabitable soon after. Finally the planet would plunge into the sun.

King Tut’s Curse (1923): In November 1922 Howard Carter located the entrance to the tomb of Tutankhamun. By February he and his team had unsealed the door of the Burial Chamber. But a mere two months later, on April 5, 1923, the sponsor of his expedition, Lord Carnarvon, died in his Cairo hotel room, having succumbed to a bacterial infection caused by a mosquito bite. The media immediately speculated that Carnarvon had fallen victim to King Tut's Curse. This curse supposedly promised death to all who violated his tomb.¹

The War of Worlds Mass Hysteria Hoax (1938): On Halloween Eve 1938, Orson Welles sent a great fright through America with his radio adaptation of “The War of the Worlds.” It was the hysterical newspaper headlines the next morning, however, that turned the program into the most notorious radio broadcast in American history. The newspaper industry also felt unease from the increasing popularity of radio as an informational and advertising medium, and, seeing a chance to strike back at its growing rival, it gleefully collected the sporadic reports of individual confusion generated by “The War of the Worlds” and weaved them into a narrative of “mass hysteria.” Newspapers reported suicide attempts, heart attacks and exoduses from major metropolitan areas. ¹

Robert Patterson’s Tour of China (1971): In June 1971 Robert Patterson, a 66-year-old newsman, filed a series of five reports for the San Francisco Examiner detailing his odyssey through mainland China. His journey was inspired by the popular interest in Chinese culture following President Nixon's official visit to that country. The series ran on the Examiner's front page. Patterson discussed details such as his difficulty obtaining an entry visa, witnessing Chinese citizens doing calisthenics in the street every morning, and receiving acupuncture at a Chinese hospital for chronic hip pain.²

Janet Cooke and Jimmy’s World (1980): Janet Cooke's article in the Washington Post about 'Jimmy,' an 8-year-old heroin addict, won her a Pulitzer Prize. But pressure mounted for Cooke to reveal where Jimmy lived so that authorities could help him. As Cooke steadfastly refused to do this, rumors began to swirl suggesting there was no Jimmy. Finally, the editors at the Post confronted Cooke and demanded she provide proof of the boy's existence. Cooke then admitted that she had never met Jimmy and that much of her story was fictitious. Cooke resigned, and the Post, humiliated by the incident, returned the Pulitzer Prize.³

Once upon a time newspapers made-up stories just to sell papers or just to advance the careers of reporters. Or just to get even as in the War of the Worlds mass hysteria hoax. Now, they do political hit jobs.

Maybe journalists should heed the advice of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics: Seek Truth and Report It. Minimize Harm. Specifically, as part of the Seek Truth the website suggests:

Take responsibility for the accuracy of their work. Verify information before releasing it. Use original sources whenever possible.

Just because there is a Freedom of the Press in the Bill of Rights don’t absolve journalists the responsibility of what they produce. As for sources, here is what the website says:

• Identify sources clearly. The public is entitled to as much information as possible to judge the reliability and motivations of sources.
• Consider sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Reserve anonymity for sources who may face danger, retribution or other harm, and have information that cannot be obtained elsewhere. Explain why anonymity was granted.

I wonder if the these so-called “unnamed” sources are even known to the reporters? Or do the reporters even care as long as the ideology of the source fits in with the agenda or narrative of the reporter? It would be interesting to know if any of these ethic suggestions are even taught in journalism schools.

Here’s something to ponder: Fake news drives out real news because eventually no one will trust any news at all. Call it Gresham's law of news.

As for consuming news stories, here is good advice from the Buddha:

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it - even if I have said it - unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.

Don’t take news on its face value.

By the way, if the reader wants to read more fake news (s)he can click on the Hoaxes by Journalists link where I got most of content.

¹ The curse was made-up.  I heard about the fake curse first on the “Mysteries at the Museum” show which got me thinking about the history of fake news.

²The whole journey was made-up and the journalist was fired.

³Also heard about this fake new story on the “Mysteries at the Museum” show. The journalist said she made up the story because she was pressured by the paper. In actuality, she did it to advance her career.