I have talked a lot about current media and instances of fake news over the last few blogs. Let's turn the dial back now (our AM/FM dial) and talk about a very famous fake news story that was delivered via the radio.
I am not sure if everyone will be familiar with this story, because it happened so long ago. I thought I would share it now, in this era of fake news stories to show that "fake news" is not new, it just seems more prevalent now because we are hearing about it so often.
On the eve of Halloween 1938, actor Orson Welles performed an adaptation of H.G. Well's The War of the Worlds. His adaptation took the form of a breaking news story, containing sound effects and briefings from government officials. The breaking news story was a Martian invasion in New Jersey. This may seem like a far-fetched story to believe, but it caused hysteria. There were reports of stampede's, suicides and jammed phones lines to the police, newspapers, and radio stations from panicked residents.
Is the panic outlined in this story real or is it legend? Could this fake news story also have another layer of fake news attached to it?
Did newspapers use this opportunity to show that radio was unreliable and untrustworthy? Was the panic real? Did Orson Welles intend on deceiving listeners, or did he think the story was so far fetched, no one would take it seriously?
I will leave it for you to decide.......
Hello Rachael,
ReplyDeletePersonally, I feel that this was an attempt to show everyone that they need to stop believing everything that they hear; whether that is on the radio or in the newspapers. People need to realize that fake news does float around and they need to stop jumping to conclusions. Instead, they need to take a step back and really think the scenario through before making a final decision. To conclude, I feel that this story was a life lesson; everyone has a different perspective and need to be aware that everything that we hear may not be true. We all need to be mindful in how we go about things; we have all learned to not judge a book by its cover, to not say you don’t like something before you try it. So, let’s have the same mentality when it comes to news; do some research before making a statement that may or may not have merit.
Thank you,
Ioana
I could definitely see the whole thing as a ploy to drum up some news, as well as the fact that most people wouldn't have actually heard the broadcast since there are a multitude of stations, even back then, and they would have to tune in to that one at that specific time. Most people would also not believe it if they were just being told by a friend or family member who had heard it.
ReplyDeleteRachael,
ReplyDeleteI have definitely heard about this hysteria before and quite honestly, I never thought about it the way you had introduced it in this blog post. I had always just assumed that the hysteria over this broadcast had happened because of all the details that were provided about it and since it was so long ago and people did not have the same connectivity to one another to confirm with multiple sources as we have today. It just goes to show again that you can’t believe everything you read and hear. I feel like there really was hysteria to an extent, due to the fact that many radio listeners could have easily missed the briefing beforehand that stated it was just a performance and not real news. But I can’t imagine that happened to the 6 million people (as Brad Schwartz wrote in the description of the video that you included in your post). Even if the newspaper tried to exaggerate this to prove that you can’t believe everything you hear on the radio, it just in turn did the same thing for newspapers by making them untrustworthy. Great post and it definitely gave me something to think about.
Lauren
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ReplyDeleteHi Rachael!
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, wouldn't people have known who Orson Wells is? He was an actor who portrayed many science-fiction and horror movies, thus, himself performing this stunt would just replicate his normal scenes. Therefore, I do not think he was deceiving his listeners, I think he just playing his role like he always did. I believe that newspapers were trying to embellish the effects of this show in order to capture readers imaginations. Remember newspapers have sections dedicated towards amusement.