Dissentertainment.

Anatomy of a Hoax

Happy April, Fools. Since April 1st makes the Internet the most annoying place in the world, I have to decided to go on a media fast for the rest of the day (this IS Holy Week after all and the Internet IS my religion). That said, my wheels did get turning while skimming this year’s parade of yawn-inducing corporate April Fool’s “jokes” (OK, Wikipedia, the wife selling article did make me laugh.). Why do April Fool’s pranks seem so empty when compared to other hoaxes that have managed to have lasting cultural impact? Perhaps it is too hard to pull off an effective hoax on a day when everyone is expecting it. Or perhaps it’s because a typical April Fool’s prank simply has no point. Below are some more clever and successful hoaxes, along with the magic ingredients that made them work so well.

1. Orson Welles’ radio broadcast of “The War of the Worlds”
Magic Ingredients: media savvy, vérité style

Though intended as nothing more than a radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ famous novel, Welles’ broadcast cleverly tricked latecomers who missed the show intro by using a news bulletin format and by broadcasting without commercial breaks. The actual extent of the panic that ensued is still debated, but the stunt generated over 12,000 newspaper articles and created one of the first mega-memes of the 20th century (Hitler even cited the broadcast as evidence of decadence in democratic society).

Listen to Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast [Internet Archive]:

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Posted by Dissentertainer on April 1st, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Category: Audio, Ideas, Video | Tags: april fools day, Black Like Me, Clifford Irving, Elmyr de Hory, hoax, Howard Hughes, John Howard Griffin, Orson Welles, The Yes Men, War of the Worlds | Comments