Changes

==Origin==

==Origin==

probably contraction of ''hocus''

probably contraction of ''hocus''

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18th_century 1796]

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18th_century 1796]

The British [[philologist]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Nares Robert Nares] (1753–1829) says that the word ''hoax'' was coined in the late 18th century as a contraction of the verb ''hocus'', which means "to cheat", "to impose upon" or "to befuddle often with drugged [[liquor]]". Hocus is a shortening of the [[magic]] [[incantation]] ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocus_Pocus_(magic) hocus pocus]'', which in turn is a contraction of the phrase ''Hocus pocus, tontus talontus, vade celeriter jubeo'', mentioned in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Ady Thomas Ady]'s 1656 book ''A Candle in the Dark, or a Treatise on the Nature of Witches and Witchcraft''. According to the book, the [[Latin]]-like gibberish phrase was uttered by a [[conjuror]] to [[distract]] his [[audience]] from his sleight of hand.

The British [[philologist]] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Nares Robert Nares] (1753–1829) says that the word ''hoax'' was coined in the late 18th century as a contraction of the verb ''hocus'', which means "to cheat", "to impose upon" or "to befuddle often with drugged [[liquor]]". Hocus is a shortening of the [[magic]] [[incantation]] ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocus_Pocus_(magic) hocus pocus]'', which in turn is a contraction of the phrase ''Hocus pocus, tontus talontus, vade celeriter jubeo'', mentioned in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Ady Thomas Ady]'s 1656 book ''A Candle in the Dark, or a Treatise on the Nature of Witches and Witchcraft''. According to the book, the [[Latin]]-like gibberish phrase was uttered by a [[conjuror]] to [[distract]] his [[audience]] from his sleight of hand.

==Definitions==

==Definitions==

*1: to trick into believing or [[accepting]] as genuine something [[false]] and often preposterous  

*1: to trick into believing or [[accepting]] as genuine something [[false]] and often preposterous  

A '''hoax''' is a deliberately fabricated [[falsehood]] made to [[masquerade]] as [[truth]]. It is distinguishable from [[errors]] in [[observation]] or [[judgment]], or [[rumors]], urban [[legends]], [[pseudosciences]] or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in [[good]] faith by believers or as [[jokes]].

A '''hoax''' is a deliberately fabricated [[falsehood]] made to [[masquerade]] as [[truth]]. It is distinguishable from [[errors]] in [[observation]] or [[judgment]], or [[rumors]], urban [[legends]], [[pseudosciences]] or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in [[good]] faith by believers or as [[jokes]].

The term hoax is occasionally used in [[reference]] to urban legends and rumors, but the folklorist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Harold_Brunvand Jan Harold Brunvand] argues that most of them lack [[evidence]] of deliberate creations of [[falsehood]] and are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes, so the term should be used for only those with a probable [[conscious]] attempt to [[deceive]]. As for the closely related terms practical joke and prank, Brunvand states that although there are instances where they overlap, hoax tends to indicate "relatively [[complex]] and large-scale fabrications" and includes [[deceptions]] that go beyond the merely playful and "cause material loss or [[harm]] to the [[victim]]".

The term hoax is occasionally used in [[reference]] to urban legends and rumors, but the folklorist [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Harold_Brunvand Jan Harold Brunvand] argues that most of them lack [[evidence]] of deliberate creations of [[falsehood]] and are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes, so the term should be used for only those with a probable [[conscious]] attempt to [[deceive]]. As for the closely related terms practical joke and prank, Brunvand states that although there are instances where they overlap, hoax tends to indicate "relatively [[complex]] and large-scale fabrications" and includes [[deceptions]] that go beyond the merely playful and "cause material loss or [[harm]] to the [[victim]]".

According to Professor Lynda Walsh of the University of Nevada, Reno, some hoaxes—such as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Stock_Exchange_Fraud_of_1814 Great Stock Exchange Fraud of 1814], labeled as a hoax by contemporary commentators—are [[financial]] in nature, and successful hoaxers—such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._T._Barnum P. T. Barnum], whose Fiji mermaid contributed to his [[wealth]]—often acquire monetary gain or [[fame]] through their fabrications, so the distinction between hoax and [[fraud]] is not necessarily clear. Alex Boese, the creator of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Hoaxes Museum of Hoaxes], states that the only distinction between them is the [[reaction]] of the [[public]], because a fraud can be classified as a hoax when its [[method]] of acquiring financial gain creates a broad public [[impact]] or captures the [[imagination]] of [[the masses]].

According to Professor Lynda Walsh of the University of Nevada, Reno, some hoaxes—such as the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Stock_Exchange_Fraud_of_1814 Great Stock Exchange Fraud of 1814], labeled as a hoax by contemporary commentators—are [[financial]] in nature, and successful hoaxers—such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._T._Barnum P. T. Barnum], whose Fiji mermaid contributed to his [[wealth]]—often acquire monetary gain or [[fame]] through their fabrications, so the distinction between hoax and [[fraud]] is not necessarily clear. Alex Boese, the creator of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Hoaxes Museum of Hoaxes], states that the only distinction between them is the [[reaction]] of the [[public]], because a fraud can be classified as a hoax when its [[method]] of acquiring financial gain creates a broad public [[impact]] or captures the [[imagination]] of [[the masses]].

One of the earliest recorded media hoaxes is a fake almanac published by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Swift Jonathan Swift] under the pseudonym of Isaac Bickerstaff in 1708. Swift predicted the [[death]] of John Partridge, one of the leading [[astrologers]] in England at that time, in the almanac and later issued an [[elegy]] on the day Partridge was supposed to have died. Partridge's [[reputation]] was damaged as a result and his astrological almanac was not published for the next six years.

One of the earliest recorded media hoaxes is a fake almanac published by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Swift Jonathan Swift] under the pseudonym of Isaac Bickerstaff in 1708. Swift predicted the [[death]] of John Partridge, one of the leading [[astrologers]] in England at that time, in the almanac and later issued an [[elegy]] on the day Partridge was supposed to have died. Partridge's [[reputation]] was damaged as a result and his astrological almanac was not published for the next six years.

It is possible to perpetrate a hoax by making only true [[statements]] using unfamiliar wording or [[context]], such as in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_hoax Dihydrogen monoxide hoax]. [[Political]] hoaxes are sometimes motivated by the [[desire]] to [[ridicule]] or besmirch opposing politicians or political institutions, often before [[elections]].

It is possible to perpetrate a hoax by making only true [[statements]] using unfamiliar wording or [[context]], such as in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_hoax Dihydrogen monoxide hoax]. [[Political]] hoaxes are sometimes motivated by the [[desire]] to [[ridicule]] or besmirch opposing politicians or political institutions, often before [[elections]].

A hoax differs from a [[magic]] trick or from [[fiction]] (books, movies, theatre, radio, television, etc.) in that the [[audience]] is unaware of being [[deceived]], whereas in watching a magician perform an [[illusion]] the [[audience]] expects to be tricked.

A hoax differs from a [[magic]] trick or from [[fiction]] (books, movies, theatre, radio, television, etc.) in that the [[audience]] is unaware of being [[deceived]], whereas in watching a magician perform an [[illusion]] the [[audience]] expects to be tricked.

A hoax is often intended as a practical [[joke]] or to cause [[embarrassment]], or to provoke social or political [[change]] by raising people's [[awareness]] of something. It can also emerge from a marketing or advertising purpose. For example, to market a [[romantic]] comedy movie, a director staged a phony "incident" during a supposed [[wedding]], which showed a bride and [[preacher]] getting knocked into a pool by a clumsy fall from a best man. A resulting video clip of ''Chloe and Keith's Wedding'' was uploaded to YouTube and was viewed by over 30 million people and the couple was interviewed by numerous talk shows. Viewers were deluded into [[thinking]] that it was an authentic clip of a real [[accident]] at a real wedding; but a story in USA Today in 2009 revealed it was a hoax.

A hoax is often intended as a practical [[joke]] or to cause [[embarrassment]], or to provoke social or political [[change]] by raising people's [[awareness]] of something. It can also emerge from a marketing or advertising purpose. For example, to market a [[romantic]] comedy movie, a director staged a phony "incident" during a supposed [[wedding]], which showed a bride and [[preacher]] getting knocked into a pool by a clumsy fall from a best man. A resulting video clip of ''Chloe and Keith's Wedding'' was uploaded to YouTube and was viewed by over 30 million people and the couple was interviewed by numerous talk shows. Viewers were deluded into [[thinking]] that it was an authentic clip of a real [[accident]] at a real wedding; but a story in USA Today in 2009 revealed it was a hoax.

A borderline case between [[fiction]] and hoax is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio_drama) 1938 radio broadcast by Orson Welles] describing a Martian [[invasion]] of earth. Many people who tuned in without hearing the introduction of the program as fiction were concerned that the invasion was real. It has been suggested that Welles knew the schedule of a popular program on another channel, and scheduled the first report of the invasion to coincide with a commercial break in the other program so that people switching stations would be tricked.

A borderline case between [[fiction]] and hoax is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio_drama) 1938 radio broadcast by Orson Welles] describing a Martian [[invasion]] of earth. Many people who tuned in without hearing the introduction of the program as fiction were concerned that the invasion was real. It has been suggested that Welles knew the schedule of a popular program on another channel, and scheduled the first report of the invasion to coincide with a commercial break in the other program so that people switching stations would be tricked.

[[Governments]] sometimes spread [[false]] [[information]] to assist them with aims such as going to [[war]]; the "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Dossier Iraq dossier]" is an example of this; these often come under the heading of black propaganda. There is often a mixture of outright hoax and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship suppression and management of information] to give the desired impression. In wartime and times of international tension [[rumours]] abound, some of which may be deliberate hoaxes.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoax]

[[Governments]] sometimes spread [[false]] [[information]] to assist them with aims such as going to [[war]]; the "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Dossier Iraq dossier]" is an example of this; these often come under the heading of black propaganda. There is often a mixture of outright hoax and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship suppression and management of information] to give the desired impression. In wartime and times of international tension [[rumours]] abound, some of which may be deliberate hoaxes.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoax]

[[Category: Psychology]]

[[Category: Psychology]]

[[Category: Sociology]]

[[Category: Sociology]]

[[Category: Law]]

[[Category: Law]]