They Fell for This?! Bat-Men on the Moon and the First Fake News Frenzy

In 1835, a New York newspaper convinced the public that intelligent bat-men lived on the moon—and millions believed it. This is the true story of the first viral media hoax in history.

🌓 They Fell for This?! Bat-Men on the Moon and the First Fake News Frenzy
In August of 1835, The New York Sun published a story claiming that a new telescope had revealed intelligent life on the moon—complete with beaver-bat creatures, sapphire cities, and lunar philosophers. It was bizarre, bold... and completely fake. Yet millions believed it.

This episode of An Ounce explores how the Great Moon Hoax fooled the public, what it says about our need to believe, and how the echoes of that story still ripple through the internet age.
🔍 Featuring original engravings from the hoax and eerie parallels to today's fake news.
📌 If you enjoy true stories with strange twists, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and comment!
💬 QUESTION: What modern hoax do you think future generations will laugh at? Let us know below.

#FakeNews #BatmenOnTheMoon #MoonHoax #GreatMoonHoax #HistoryPodcast #AnOuncePodcast #MediaHoaxes #19thCenturyNews #TrueHistory #YouTubeHistory
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Chapters
00:00 – They Discovered Bat-Men on the Moon?!
00:37 – The Headline That Fooled the Nation
02:06 – The Public Goes Lunar-Loco
03:27 – The Big Reveal: It Was All Made Up
04:39 – Why We Wanted It to Be True
05:43 – From 1835 to Today: We Still Fall For It
07:01 – An Ounce of Wisdom

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References:
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Moon_Hoax
General overview of the 1835 Great Moon Hoax, including publication details and public reaction.
• https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-great-moon-hoax
Brief summary article from History.com marking the publication of the hoax in The New York Sun.
• https://www.britannica.com/story/the-great-moon-hoax-of-1835-was-sci-fi-passed-off-as-news
Encyclopedia Britannica article analyzing how the hoax resembled early science fiction and fooled the public.
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Moon_Hoax_Bat_Man.jpg
Public domain engraving of a “moon bat-man” used in the original hoax illustrations—ideal for visual reference.
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Credits:
Visual: Images via iStock, Getty, and Picryl. Additional representative images generated with AI.
Music: The Dark Glow of the Mountains by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/darkglow/
Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/