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On October 30, 1938, a radio broadcast of H.G Wells’ The War Of The Worlds which was narrated by Orson Welles, caused mass panic. Welles’ Mercury Theatre Players performed a realistic presentation of an attack from Mars on Grover’s Mill, NJ.
The show was prefaced by Welles announcing that the night’s performance was a drama, but many people missed that part, or were still confused by the format of the show. Panic set in as people in America, listening to CBS Radio, were convinced of the attack and invasion.
Was this the birth of fake news?
