Zahlen, bitte! Huge circulation thanks to newspaper hoax – The Moon Great Hoax
In 1835, six articles about life on the moon appeared in the New York Sun, which caused a stir for a long time – until it emerged that they were fictitious.
190 years ago, six articles appeared in the New York working-class newspaper "New York Sun" in which an author by the name of Dr. Andrew Grant reported in detail on the alleged discovery of life on the moon. He claimed to have used a giant telescope with the British astronomer John F. W. Herschel, son of the Hanoverian-British astronomer Wilhelm Herschel, to uncover fantastic secrets of the Earth's satellite.
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In imaginative descriptions, there was talk of bat people, imposing buildings and an impressive lunar animal world. This generated a huge response and wide circulation for three weeks, until the editor-in-chief of the newspaper had to meekly admit that the series of articles was fictitious and nothing more than a hoax. The Great Moon Hoax is regarded as the first example of a large-scale media hoax.
New York as a rapidly growing city
New York in the 1835s was characterized by the abolition of slavery a few years earlier and the associated discussions. The city was also growing rapidly, even though it was already the largest city in the United States. It was structurally unable to keep up with the growth, which became apparent at the latest in the great fire in December of that year. During this time, groundbreaking astronomical discoveries were a welcome break from everyday life. In addition, Halley's Comet was expected again in the course of the year.
(Image:Â W. Ward, gemeinfrei)
On August 25, 1835, the first article appeared under the title "Great astronomical discoveries lately made by Sir John Herschel, L.L.D. F.R.S. &c. At the Cape of Good Hope [From Supplement to the Edinburgh Journal of Science]". In the introduction, the editors claimed that the text had already been published in Europe:
"Great astronomical discoveries – We begin this morning with the publication
a series of excerpts from the new appendix to the Edinburgh Journal of Science,
very kindly supplied to us by a doctor direct from Scotland, as a result of a paragraph which appeared in last Friday's Edinburgh Courant ... We are obliged to omit the more abstruse and mathematical parts of the extracts ... but even these cannot fail to excite a greater curiosity, and afford a more sublime satisfaction, than
than anything but a divine revelation from heaven could. Now, indeed, it may be said that we live in an age of discovery"
Alleged giant telescope with 7-ton lens
John Herschel allegedly created a giant telescope with a seven-and-a-half meter, seven-ton lens to reveal the secrets of the universe. In the first text, the creation of the telescope was described in detail in pseudo-scientific terms. The second described the first astronomical discoveries and the view of the lunar worlds.
The telescope had allegedly "shown that the moon has an atmosphere similar to our own and in which organic life, most likely animal life, is possible". The author described that the "Lunariens" had built temples, pyramids and monuments. In addition, the researchers allegedly discovered enormous, one-horned goats, two-legged zebras, deer-like sheep with spiral horns, white deer, unicorns and bat-people, before the telescope was partially destroyed by fire due to solar radiation in the last article.
(Image:Â Delle Scoperte Fatte Nella Luna del Dottor Giovanni Herschel)
At the end of the article series, editor Benjamin Day announced that his article series had boosted the circulation of the New York Sun to 19,360 copies, supposedly the highest circulation of any newspaper in the world at the time. The editors had to drastically increase circulation by reprinting the articles. Even research institutes wanted to know more in order to further investigate the sensational discoveries and the extraterrestrial beings. Missionaries also wanted to know more so that they could possibly take action. The stories were later reprinted countless times.
Resolution after three weeks
The fantastic story persisted until September 16, when the newspaper meekly admitted that the stories had been made up and that neither a giant telescope nor bat people existed. However, the author behind the series of articles was not named. Richard Adams Locke, a reporter who worked for the New York Sun at the time, is considered the author behind the synonym Dr. Andrew Grant –. He is said to have admitted authorship in 1840.
This was presumably intended to satirically poke fun at the sensationalism of new discoveries and religious dogmatism. Increasing circulation was certainly also a goal. It is reported that readers were amused by the resolution. It probably sounded too good to be true.
A reaction from Herschel showed how far the hoax spread around the world. Herschel later complained to his aunt Caroline Herschel in a letter [PDF]: "I have been pestered from all sides with this ridiculous hoax about the moon – in English, French, Italian and German." Edgar Allen Poe was also temporarily annoyed by the series of articles: he accused Locke of having plagiarized his story "The Incomparable Adventure of a Certain Hans Pfaall", which had appeared two months before the article and had some parallels, but later withdrew the accusations.
Almost exactly 190 years later, it could be that the Mars rover Perseverance has now actually discovered the first evidence of former life on Mars. However, there is probably no danger of a hoax here – rather, it needs to be clarified whether natural processes are responsible for the rock residues found.
(mawi)
