13 Historical Moments That Were Actually Pranks or Hoaxes
Some events that once fooled the world turned out to be jokes, lies, or clever tricks.
- Sophia Zapanta
- 4 min read
Not every headline in history was true. Over time, hoaxes and pranks have made their way into serious records, surprising both the public and experts. These 13 moments show how easily facts can be faked.
1. The Great Moon Hoax (1835)
Benjamin Henry Day on Wikimedia Commons
The New York Sun published a fake series claiming astronomers saw life on the moon through a powerful telescope. The articles described bat-like people, temples, and moon forests. Readers believed it, and the newspaper’s sales exploded. The paper later admitted it was all made up.
2. Piltdown Man (1912)
Anrie on Wikimedia Commons
In England, scientists announced they had found the “missing link” between apes and humans. The skull was later proven to be a mix of artificially aged human and orangutan bones. It fooled experts for over 40 years. The hoax delayed real science on human evolution.
3. The Cardiff Giant (1869)
Lotsofissues~commonswiki on Wikimedia Commons
A 10-foot “petrified man” was found in New York and displayed as an ancient giant. People paid to see it, and even some scientists believed it was real. It was later revealed as a carved gypsum statue, buried on purpose. The man behind it said he did it to mock religious claims about giants.
4. The War of the Worlds Radio Panic (1938)
Acme News Photos on Wikimedia Commons
Orson Welles read The War of the Worlds live on the radio as a news-style broadcast. Some listeners thought it was real and believed aliens were attacking. The panic wasn’t as widespread as newspapers later said, but many were confused. It remains one of the most famous media hoaxes in history.
5. The Tasaday Tribe (1971)
Susanne Haerpfer on Wikimedia Commons
A “stone-age” tribe in the Philippines was introduced to the world and said to live untouched by modern life. They wore leaves, used stone tools, and lived in caves. Later, journalists found the tribe used modern clothes and tools and were told to pose as primitive. The story had been staged for publicity and funding.
6. The Mechanical Turk (1770)
Joseph Racknitz on Wikimedia Commons
This machine played chess and seemed to beat human opponents with ease. Audiences were amazed at the idea of a thinking robot. But inside the machine was a hidden human chess master. It fooled people for decades, including Napoleon and Benjamin Franklin.
7. The Berners Street Hoax (1810)
Alfred Concanen on Wikimedia Commons
A man bet he could make any house in London the most talked-about in a week. He picked 54 Berners Street and sent thousands of fake requests for services and deliveries. Soon, doctors, bakers, priests, and even nobles were crowding the street. The chaos lasted all day, and it became a legendary prank.
8. The Hitler Diaries (1983)
ElDiarioDeAdolf on Wikimedia Commons
German magazine Stern bought what they believed were Adolf Hitler’s secret diaries. Historians and journalists were excited at first, but they were soon proven to be modern forgeries using fake ink and paper. The scandal embarrassed many respected experts and media outlets.
9. The Sokal Affair (1996)
Cml3dp on Wikimedia Commons
Physicist Alan Sokal submitted a nonsense paper full of jargon to a cultural studies journal. It got published, even though it was purposely meaningless. Sokal revealed the hoax to show how some academic fields lacked critical review. It sparked major debate in scholarly communities.
10. The Loch Ness Surgeon’s Photo (1934)
Nitin Dhapte on Wikimedia Commons
This famous photo seemed to show the Loch Ness Monster rising from the water. It became the strongest “proof” of the creature’s existence. Decades later, it was revealed as a toy submarine with a fake neck attached. The hoax fooled the public for over 60 years.
11. The Dreadnought Hoax (1910)
James Lafayette on Wikimedia Commons
Members of the Bloomsbury Group dressed as Abyssinian royals and tricked the British Navy into giving them a full tour of the HMS Dreadnought. They wore costumes and fake beards and spoke gibberish. The navy treated them like real dignitaries. When the hoax was revealed, it caused national embarrassment.
12. Balloon Boy Incident (2009)
Sgt. Benjamin Crane on Wikimedia Commons
A Colorado family claimed their six-year-old son had floated away in a homemade balloon. News networks followed the balloon for hours. When it landed, the boy wasn’t inside — he had been hiding in the attic the whole time. The parents later admitted it was a publicity stunt.
13. The Museum of Hoaxes Exhibit (2000s–present)
Day, Benjamin Henry on Wikimedia Commons
Some small museums around the world have claimed to house real “artifacts” like unicorn bones or time travel devices. These are part of joke exhibits, but tourists sometimes believe they’re real. One such museum in San Diego mixes real and fake history to entertain. It highlights how easily people can be tricked by presentation.