HOAX

When satire becomes a hoax, is it really good satire or really bad?

On August 25, 1835, an article appeared in the New York Sun, proclaiming the discovery of life on the moon. Stating:

 

"To render our enthusiasm intelligible, we will state at once, that by means of a telescope of vast dimensions and an entirely new principle, the younger Herschel, at his observatory in the Southern Hemisphere, has already made the most extraordinary discoveries in every planet of our solar system; has discovered planets in other solar systems; has obtained a distinct view of objects in the moon, fully equal to that which the naked eye commands of terrestrial objects at the distance of a hundred yards; has affirmatively settled the question whether this satellite be inhabited, and by what order of things; has firmly established a new theory of cometary phenomena; and has solved or corrected nearly every leading problem of mathematical astronomy." (http://hoaxes.org/text/display/the_great_moon_hoax_of_1835_text)

Five more articles followed each one detailing more and more findings, from deserts and volcanos,to vegetation, and animals. Day Four included humanoid creatures with wings.

"They averaged four feet in height, were covered, except on the face, with short and glossy copper-colored hair, and had wings composed of a thin membrane, without hair, lying snugly upon their backs, from the top of their shoulders to the calves of their legs."

(http://hoaxes.org/text/display/the_great_moon_hoax_of_1835_text/P3)

What was supposed to be satire was instead widely believed. Edgar Allan Poe wrote: “Not one person in ten discredited it. A grave professor of mathematics in a Virginian college told me seriously that he had no doubt of the truth of the whole affair!” (The Great Moon Hoax of 1835 Was Sci-Fi Passed Off as News)Poe initially believed Richard Adam Locke, had plagiarized Poe's "A Voyage to the Moon" which was published in June of 1835.

"In a letter to his benefactor, J. P. Kennedy, Poe hotly remarked of the series that, “from many little incidents & apparently trivial remarks in those Discoveries I am convinced that the idea was stolen from myself” (Poe 74). By the time Poe penned his sketch of Locke in the “Literati,” he still maintained that the two pieces had a striking similarity, but he professed that he had decided to believe Locke’s self-report of ignorance regarding “Hans Pfaall” (“Locke” 129). While he could not refrain from shredding the piece’s claims to scientific accuracy, Poe further expressed his admiration for Locke’s ability not only as a writer but also as a practitioner of one of his own favorite hobbies — hoaxing." (https://www.eapoe.org/people/lockeria.htm)

The hoax was enough that even scientists from Yale University traveled to New York hoping to gain access to Journal articles that didn't actually exist. Employees of the New York Sun were able to create distractions and sent the scientists back and forth to different offices until they gave up the hunt.  in September of 1835, the Sun admitted to the hoax.  Luckily the general public's response was that of amusement. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-great-moon-hoax

Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News by Young, Kevin

"Award-winning poet and critic Kevin Young traces the history of the hoax as a peculiarly American phenomenon--the legacy of P.T. Barnum's 'humbug' culminating with the currency of Donald J. Trump's 'fake news'. Disturbingly, Young finds that fakery is woven from stereotype and suspicion, with race being the most insidious American hoax of all. He chronicles how Barnum came to fame by displaying figures like Joice Heth, a black woman whom he pretended was the 161-year-old nursemaid to George Washington, and 'What Is It?', an African American man Barnum professed was a newly discovered missing link in evolution. Bunk then turns to the hoaxing of history and the ways that forgers, plagiarists, and journalistic fakers invent backstories and falsehoods to sell us lies about themselves and about the world in our own time, from pretend Native Americans like Nasdijj to the deadly imposture of Clark Rockefeller, from the made-up memoirs of James Frey to the identity theft of Rachel Dolezal. This brilliant and timely work asks what it means to live in a post-factual world of 'truthiness' where everything is up for interpretation and everyone is subject to a pervasive cynicism that damages our ideas of reality, fact, and art."--Dust jacket flap.

Queen of the Con: From a Spiritualist to the Carnegie Imposter by Crowl, Thomas

• "Queen of the Con tells the true story of Cassie Chadwick, a sucessful swindler and 'one of the top 10 imposters of all time,' according to Time Magazine. Born Elizabeth Bigley in 1857 in Canada, she first operated as Madame Devere, a European clairvoyant, and in 1890 was arrested for defunding a Toledo bank of $20,000. In the mid-1890s, while continuing her work as a medium under the name Madame La Rose in Cleveland, Cassie met and married a widowed physician with a coveted Euclid Avenue address. At the dawn of the 20th century, Cassie borrowed $2 million (worth roughly $50 million today) throughout northern Ohio, Pittsburgh, New York, and Boston by convincingly posing as the illegitimate daughter of wealthy industrialist-turned-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. When the fraud collapsed in 1904, it was a nationwide sensation. 'Yes, I borrowed money in very large amounts,' she told reporters, 'but what of it? You can't accuse a poor businesswoman of being a criminal, can you?' Carnegie, who never responded to the claim, merely joked that Mrs. Chadwick had demonstrated that his credit was still good. This meticulously researched book is the first full-length account of the notorious career of this fascinating con artist. Crowl's engaging storytelling also leads readers to consider aspects of gender stereotypes, social and economic class structures, and how we humans can so often be fooled"--Back cover.

The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century by Dolnick, Edward

As riveting as a World War II thriller, The Forger's Spell is the true story of Johannes Vermeer and the small-time Dutch painter, Han van Meegeren, who dared to impersonate Vermeer centuries later. The con man's mark was Hermann Goering, one of the most reviled leaders of Nazi Germany and a fanatic collector of art.

The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape In History by Fox, Margalit

"Imprisoned in a remote Turkish prison camp during World War I, having survived a two-month forced march and a terrifying shootout in the desert, two British officers, Harry Jones and Cedric Hill, join forces to bamboozle their iron-fisted captors. To stave off despair and boredom, Jones takes a handmade Ouija board and fakes elaborate séances for his fellow prisoners. Word gets around camp, and one day, a Turkish officer approaches Jones with a query: Could Jones contact the spirit world to find a vast treasure rumored to be buried nearby? Jones, a trained lawyer, and Hill, a brilliant magician, use the Ouija board--and their keen understanding of the psychology of deception--to build a trap for the Turkish officers that will ultimately lead them to freedom. The Confidence Men is the story of the only known con game played for a good cause--and of a profound but unlikely friendship. Had it not been for "the Great War," Jones, the Oxford-educated son of a British lord, and Hill, a mechanic from an Australian sheep farm, would never have met. But in pain, loneliness, hunger, and isolation, they formed a powerful emotional and intellectual alliance that saved both of their lives. Margalit Fox brings her "nose for interesting facts, the ability to construct a taut narrative arc, and a Dickens-level gift for concisely conveying personality" (Kathryn Schulz, New York) to this gripping tale of psychological strategy that is rife with cunning, danger, and moments of high farce that rival anything in Catch-22"--. Provided by publisher.

Lincoln Legends: Myths, Hoaxes, and Confabulations Associated With Our Greatest President by Steers, Edward

In the more than 140 years since his death, Abraham Lincoln has become America's most revered president. The mythmaking about this self-made man began early, some of it starting during his campaign for the presidency in 1860. As an American icon, Lincoln has been the subject of speculation and inquiry as authors and researchers have examined every aspect--personal and professional--of the president's life.

Fairy Spell: How Two Girls Convinced the World That Fairies are Real by Nobleman, Marc Tyler

The true story of British cousins who fooled the world for more than 60 years with a remarkable hoax, photographs of real fairies. Exquisitely illustrated with art by Eliza Wheeler as well as the original photos taken by the girls.

Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters by Pinker, Steven

"Can reading a book make you more rational? Can it explain why there seems to be so much irrationality in the world, including, let's be honest, in each of us? These are the goals of Steven Pinker's follow-up to Enlightenment Now (Bill Gates's "new favorite book of all time"). Humans today are often portrayed as cavemen out of time, poised to react to a lion in the grass with a suite of biases, blind spots, fallacies, and illusions. But this, Pinker a cognitive scientist and rational optimist argues, cannot be the whole picture. Hunter-gatherers--our ancestors and contemporaries--are not nervous rabbits but cerebral problem-solvers. A list of the ways in which we are stupid cannot explain how we're so smart: how we discovered the laws of nature, transformed the planet, and lengthened and enriched our lives. Indeed, if humans were fundamentally irrational, how did they discover the benchmarks for rationality against which humans fall short? The topic could not be more timely. In the 21st century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding--and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that sequenced the genome and detected the Big Bang produce so much fake news, quack cures, conspiracy theories, and "post-truth" rhetoric? A big part of Rationality is to explain these tools--to inspire an intuitive understanding of the benchmarks of rationality, so you can understand the basics of logic, critical thinking, probability, correlation, and causation, the optimal ways to adjust our beliefs and commit to decisions with uncertain evidence, and the yardsticks for making rational choices alone and with others. Rationality matters. As the world reels from foolish choices made in the past and dreads a future that may be shaped by senseless choices in the present, rationality may be the most important asset that citizens and influencers command. Steven Pinker, the great defender of human progress, having documented how the world is not falling apart, now shows how we can enhance rationality in our lives and in the public sphere. Rationality is the perfect toolkit to seize our own fates"--. Provided by publisher.

What Are Satire and Parody? by Doeden, Matt

"Have you seen funny satire or parody shows on TV? What are satire and parody, and why do people create them? Learn about the differences between the two genres and how they are used and discover examples of satire and parody throughout history. These forms of comedy often hide a serious message. Find out how to see the truth behind the humor." -- Back cover.

Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels, and Crooks by Keefe, Patrick Radden

"From the prize-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Say Nothing and Empire Of Pain, twelve enthralling stories of skulduggery and intrigue by one of the most decorated journalists of our time "I read everything he writes. Every time he writes a book, I read it. Every time he writes an article, I read it ... he's a national treasure."--Rachel Maddow. Patrick Radden Keefe has garnered prizes ranging from the National Magazine Award to the Orwell Prize to the National Book Critics Circle Award for his meticulously-reported, hypnotically-engaging work on the many ways people behave badly. Rogues brings together a dozen of his most celebrated articles from The New Yorker. As Keefe says in his preface "They reflect on some of my abiding preoccupations: crime and corruption, secrets and lies, the permeable membrane separating licit and illicit worlds, the bonds of family, the power of denial." Keefe brilliantly explores the intricacies of forging $150,000 vintage wines, examines whether a whistleblower who dared to expose money laundering at a Swiss bank is a hero or a fabulist, spends time in Vietnam with Anthony Bourdain, chronicles the quest to bring down a cheerful international black market arms merchant, and profiles a passionate death penalty attorney who represents the "worst of the worst," among other bravura works of literary journalism. The appearance of his byline in The New Yorker is always an event, and collected here for the first time readers can see his work forms an always enthralling but deeply human portrait of criminals and rascals, as well as those who stand up against them"--. Provided by publisher.

Real News/Fake News: Fact Checkers

Resources

Boese, Alex. “The Great Moon Hoax of 1835 (Text).” The Museum of Hoaxes, 2014, hoaxes.org/text/display/the_great_moon_hoax_of_1835_text/P3. Accessed 27, July 2022.

History.com Editors. “‘The Great Moon Hoax’ Is Published in the ‘New York Sun.’” HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 24 Aug. 2020, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-great-moon-hoax. Accessed 27, July 2022.

Matthias, Meg. "The Great Moon Hoax of 1835 Was Sci-Fi Passed Off as News". Encyclopedia                       Britannica, Invalid Date, https://www.britannica.com/story/the-great-moon-hoax-of-1835-was-              sci-fi-passed-off-as-news. Accessed 27 July 2022.

The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. “Richard Adams Locke.” The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore, 1 May 1997, www.eapoe.org/people/lockeria.htm. Accessed 27, July 2022.

Zielinski, Sarah. "The Great Moon Hoax Was Simply a Sign of Its Time Scientific discoveries 

            and faraway voyages inspired fantastic tales—and a new Smithsonian exhibition" Smithsonian              Magazine, 2, July 2015, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/great-moon-              hoax-was-simply-sign-its-time-180955761/. Accessed 27 July 2022