In 1835, a New York newspaper published six detailed 'scientific' reports of bat-winged humanoids and unicorns living on the Moon. Millions believed it. The paper never apologized.
Beginning August 25, 1835, the New York Sun published a series of six articles claiming that the famous astronomer Sir John Herschel had discovered life on the Moon using a revolutionary new telescope in South Africa. The articles were written in the careful, authoritative tone of a scientific report reprinted from the Edinburgh Courant.
The lunar life described was extraordinary: vast blue forests, beaches, herds of bison-like creatures, unicorns, bipedal beavers that carried their young in their arms — and most spectacularly, a race of bat-winged humanoids called 'Vespertilio-homo' (man-bats) who had built elaborate stone temples. The Moon even had oceans and a sapphire-colored amethyst lake.
The articles were written by Richard Adams Locke, a reporter for the Sun who likely intended a satirical commentary on fanciful astronomical theorizing. He hadn't anticipated how completely readers would take it straight. The Sun's circulation skyrocketed. Other newspapers reprinted the stories. Scientists who hadn't heard from Herschel wrote excited letters to colleagues.
Sir John Herschel himself, actually in South Africa doing legitimate astronomical work, was unaware of any of this. When he heard about the articles weeks later he was initially amused — until the volume of mail from believers became genuinely annoying. He spent months deflecting questions about his lunar discoveries.
Edgar Allan Poe was furious for a different reason: he claimed Locke had stolen the idea from his own satirical story 'The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall,' published months earlier. Poe later wrote his own newspaper hoax for the same paper — 'The Balloon-Hoax' of 1844 — which reported that a man had crossed the Atlantic by balloon in 75 hours.
The Sun quietly admitted the fabrication on September 16, 1835 — but never issued a formal retraction or apology. The articles were never pulled, and pamphlet versions continued selling briskly. It stands as one of the most successful media hoaxes in history, and a reminder that sensational fake news is not a modern invention.