15 Biggest Hoaxes That Fooled The World

Whilst not technically an intentional hoax, the original radio broadcast of War of the Worlds by H.G Wells (not the overwhelmingly vanilla 2005 film with well-loved loose screw, Tom Cruise) reportedly caused mass panic amongst listeners who, due to the "news report" format of the play, thought that the earth was being invaded by bloodthirsty Martians.

Following the broadcast, there was widespread outrage in the media at the deceptive nature of the show, claiming that it was a cruel trick to play on the unsuspecting public. A war-fearing nation of 1938 had apparently gone ballistic at the thought of little green men coming to steal their women and their tax dollars, causing riots, suicides and stampedes. There were a number of lawsuits brought against Wells and the makers of the show but all were thrown out except one for a claim for a pair of shoes by a man from Massachusetts, who had spent his shoe budget to escape the Martians. Wells reportedly insisted that this man was paid.

The hoax element, however, seems to be in the claim of a hoax itself. The "national panic" generated by the programme largely seems to have been a fabrication of the press (whom were losing out on their audiences and advertising revenue due to the popularity of radio) and perpetuated by those hoping to make some money out of it in court. Wells himself doesn't seem to have done much to stamp the reputation out, preferring instead to let it add to the legend.