https://www.npr.org/2020/12/24/950074173/balloon-boy-parents-pardoned-by-colorado-governor-for-2009-hoax
"Balloon Boy"
In 2009, a boy was reportedly carried away in a UFO-sized weather balloon. The parents of Falcon Heene reported to local authorities that their 6-year-old son was swept away from their home. When the balloon safely landed there was no boy to be found inside. It turns out that the father and mother hid the boy in the attic in an attempt to gain exposure and fame. According to Lexicon of Lies Hoaxes are "deliberate deception that plays on people’s willingness to believe" (Jack, 11). When this story broke the news, every station was playing the live footage of the balloon, traveling at high speeds across the sky. It was an unbelievable sight, but I will argue that it was something people actually WANTED to believe in due to its inexplicable nature. Jack goes further explaining that "the purpose of a hoax can be as simple as self-interest" (Jack, 11). It turns out that Falcon's parents had recently been featured on a reality television show focused on swapping marital partners. The young boy even admitted on live television that his family staged the whole fiasco for the television. Falcon's parents were definitely invested in gaining popularity through this big stunt.
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-38156985
"pizza gate"
In 2016, Twitter was set ablaze when conspiracy theorists got #pizzagate trending. According to the conspiracy, a small pizzeria in the DC area was actually a front for a child sex ring run by Hilary Clinton and her associates. This theory caught so much steam online that a man entered the pizzeria with an assault rifle and fired off one shot in order to investigate said sex ring. According to Critical disinformation studies: History, power, and politics, misinformation is the "false or misleading information intentionally spread for profit, to create harm, or to advance political or ideological goals" (Kuo, Marwick). This fake news was spread to discredit Hilary Clinton and the Democratic party during the 2016 election cycle. It was a perfect example of misinformation that could have been used in a political context.
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