Typology of fiction: what types of fake news are most dangerous for a brand

Why did the inhabitants of North America for an hour believe in the capture of the Earth by the Martians? They said it on the radio. Ramil Karimov (CROS communications agency) explains why fake news is dangerous for companies and how to deal with it

Perhaps the most famous classic example of fake news was, and still is, Orson Welles' 1938 adaptation of The War of the Worlds. The novel is about an invasion of aliens from Mars, and the radio show was made in the format of special news releases, periodically interrupting music and other broadcasts. The fact that the events of the radio broadcast are fictitious was reported only at the beginning and at the fortieth minute of the action, in the midst of the invasion of the Martians. Those who missed the initial disclaimer did not listen to the transmission until the fortieth minute and were already barricading themselves in the basements, either packing their bags or forming armed squads to fight the aliens. The New York Times and other major newspapers reported that 5-6 million people listened to the program and about 1 million people believed in the reality of the events described.

Is a similar situation possible today?

Following the ideas of Immanuel Kant and David Hume, it can be argued that the reality of the surrounding world is inextricably linked with our perception, and the world for me exists in my perception, and nothing else. A classic example: if a tree fell in the forest, but no one heard or saw it, did the tree fall at all? Or if Martians really land on our planet every day, but no one has seen them, do they exist at all?