Historical Hoaxes Perfect for April Fools’

April Fools’ Day is dedicated to mischief and practical jokes, and to pushing the boundaries of what’s believable. Not that such trickery is restricted to one day of the year. In fact, there seems no shortage of historic hoaxes.

From deceptive scientific discoveries to fake photos that fooled the world, we’re exploring the most famous, most outrageous, and the most impactful of them all. Ready for some April Fools’ gold? We’ve got the goods.

On the evening of 30 October 1938, police, local newspaper, and radio stations in the US were inundated with calls about a ‘Martian invasion’. According to CBS Radio breaking-news bulletins, aliens had landed in New Jersey, wreaking havoc and releasing deadly gas. Panic seemingly ensued, with the media declaring mass hysteria.

In fact, the realistic sounding broadcast was fiction, part of Orson Welles’ adaptation of H.G. Wells’ novel, War of the Worlds. It was just that listeners who tuned in late had missed the introduction explaining as much.

For Welles’ part, he denied any intentional deception. What’s more, there’s debate as to the extent and severity of the public’s reaction, with some accusing the media of exaggerating reports. Nevertheless, it remains one of the most infamous media hoaxes of all time.

In August 1835, The New York Sun newspaper unveiled a sensational series of articles claiming the discovery of life on the moon. Published in six parts, the reports described bat-like humanoids, blue goats, unicorns, lush lunar forests, and other fantastical finds, all supposedly observed by British astronomer Sir John Herschel using a powerful telescope of his own invention.

The spectacle became known as the Great Moon Hoax, largely because so many people reportedly believed it. Even more astonishing was the number of reputable institutions that echoed the claims, treating them as plausible, if not outright probable. But how did such outlandish fabrications gain widespread acceptance? Perhaps it was the unwavering trust in newspapers at the time. Or the strategic blending of fact with fiction – such as invoking the esteemed name of Sir John Herschel. Most intriguing, however, is the apparent pattern of belief: as the claims grew increasingly absurd, public credulity seemed to wane at a matching pace, revealing an unspoken threshold for credulity.

In 1869, workers digging a well in the rural town of Cardiff, New York, unearthed what seemed to be the petrified remains of a real giant. Measuring over 10 feet tall and weighing over 200 stone, the supine man was naked, his right arm positioned at his stomach.

In truth, the “giant” was the handiwork of a cigar maker named George Hull. In all, it took two years, around $3,000, almost five tonnes of gypsum, and the work of two sculptors to bring his vision to life. He then shipped it to his friend’s farm, and the two conspired to have the workmen discover it.

The Cardiff Giant was an overwhelming sensation, with thousands paying 50 cents a time to view it. By the time Hull admitted to the fraud just a few months later, Hull and his friend sold the majority share to a conglomerate of businessmen. The success of the venture even caught the attention of infamous showman P.T. Barnum, who made his own version.

The Piltdown Man hoax ranks among the greatest scientific deceptions of all time. Discovered in England by amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson, the fossilised skull fragments were hailed as the long-sought “missing link” between apes and humans. Scientists celebrated the discovery, believing it confirmed prevailing theories of human evolution.

For over 40 years, Piltdown Man was accepted as genuine – until a detailed analysis in 1953 revealed the truth. The skull was actually a combination of human and orangutan bones, carefully altered to appear ancient. The revelation embarrassed the scientific community and served as a cautionary tale: even experts can be fooled when they want something to be true.

Few April Fools’ Day pranks have been as brilliantly executed as the BBC’s 1957 spaghetti tree hoax. A short documentary segment featured Swiss farmers harvesting spaghetti from trees, with a narrator explaining that a mild winter had led to a particularly good pasta crop.

The footage was so convincing that thousands of viewers called the BBC, eager to learn how they could grow their own spaghetti trees. The prank remains one of television’s greatest hoaxes, proving that even the most absurd ideas can be believable when delivered with a straight face.

Greed, mischief, and ambition are all powerful motivators. Equally as potent is revenge, the apparent driver behind one of the most influential media hoaxes of all time. In 1934, the Daily Mail published a grainy black-and-white image appearing to show a plesiosaur-like creature emerging from the waters of Scotland’s Loch Ness.

Purportedly captured by a prominent gynaecologist, it became known as the Surgeon’s Photograph and gained iconic status. Not only was it proof of the existence of the Loch Ness Monster, but it gave shape to the creature fondly known as Nessie.

The veracity of the image was shattered in 1994, when one Chris Spurling confessed that the Surgeon’s Photograph was, in fact, doctored. According to Spurling, it was all a conspiracy masterminded by his father-in-law, Marmaduke Wetherell. He allegedly hatched the elaborate plan to get his revenge on the newspaper for ridiculing his own attempts at finding the creature. Yet, despite the deception, the image still fuels belief in Nessie to this day, a testament to the enduring nature of the famous Loch Ness ‘monster’.

In 1917, two young cousins from Yorkshire fooled the world into believing they had photographed real fairies. Sixteen year-old Elsie Wright and her nine year-old cousin Frances Griffiths produced a series of striking photographs depicting delicate winged beings dancing in their garden. The images, taken with a simple camera, caught the attention of none other than Sherlock creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who saw them as definitive evidence of supernatural beings.

Published in The Strand Magazine in 1920, the photos divided opinion. While many dismissed them as too good to be true, others – including Doyle – insisted they were authentic. The girls stuck to their story, and the fairy photographs became an enduring mystery.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that Elsie and Frances admitted the truth: the fairies were paper cutouts, cleverly positioned and secured with hatpins. The final image, they claimed, was real – though whether they meant to continue the joke or maintain a sense of wonder remains uncertain. Despite the confession, the Cottingley Fairies continue to captivate as an early example of how advances in technology can open up the potential for fake news.

Few conspiracy theories have captured the public imagination like that of the Majestic 12. In 1984, a series of documents surfaced, purportedly revealing the existence of a top-secret US government committee tasked with investigating UFOs. Allegedly assembled by President Harry Truman in 1947, the group was said to comprise high-ranking military officials and scientists, all working under deep secrecy to conceal extraterrestrial encounters, including the infamous Roswell incident.

The documents, bearing official-looking government seals and classified markings, spread rapidly, fuelling decades of speculation. UFO enthusiasts took them as definitive proof of a cover-up, while skeptics pointed out inconsistencies in language, formatting, and historical context. By the late 1980s, the FBI deemed the papers bogus, and numerous experts identified them as an elaborate forgery.

Yet, the allure of the Majestic 12 endures. Whether an outright hoax or a smokescreen for something deeper, it remains a cornerstone of modern UFO mythology.

In the 1980s, the West German magazine Stern announced the discovery of Hitler’s personal diaries. Made up of approximately 60 volumes, the documents were said to offer shocking insights into the dictator’s private thoughts and war strategies.

Major news outlets paid millions for the publishing rights, but cracks soon appeared in the story. From inconsistent handwriting to anachronistic paper and forensic test results, the evidence eventually became overwhelming. The forger was eventually revealed as one Konrad Kujau. He, and the Stern reporter involved were both found guilty of theft and fraud.

Throughout history, hoaxes have captivated, deceived, and sometimes even reshaped public perception. From media-driven panics like The War of the Worlds to elaborate forgeries like the Hitler Diaries, each case highlights the power of misinformation.

Some hoaxes were lighthearted pranks, such as the Spaghetti Tree Hoax, while others had real-world consequences. Whether driven by ambition, revenge, or simple mischief, these deceptions serve as a reminder that the line between fact and fiction is often thinner than we think.