Hoaxing

Joined : 05 Sep 2007 Posts : 101 Location : West Scotland

Didn't Ant and Dec appear in a film about the Alien Autopsy, as the hoaxers? probably better than them resurecting their pop career. Smile

Anyway, I think there will always be hoaxers. I call it the Loki Factor, and is something to be watched for in any investigated case.

As for the effect of hoaxing, it probably makes it less likley for real evidence to be taken at face value, as plenty of experts have been left with egg on their faces over hoaxes.

Subject: Re: Hoaxing Fri 26 Oct 2007, 12:36 pm

I suppose hoaxing is a double-edged blade. On one side it generates interest in the media and with the mass-public. On the other it doesn't help the people genuinely interested in the subject. Kind of reduces what was even then a novelty subject into even more so.
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Subject: Re: Hoaxing Fri 26 Oct 2007, 12:52 pm

possibly one upside of hoaxing is that the newspapers love a good hoax, or at least they love a good story and never let the truth get in the way of a good story! But after stories appear, people who may have had genuine paranormal encounters may write in about their experience - before the hoax is revealed or more likely forgotten about. Hoaxing could be a good catalyst for peoples memories, but they do muddy the waters.

I still think creating a hoax monster for cumbria would be good to test the power of suggestion - and a few blurry photos would be great!

- at the height of the Warminster UFO flap, a ufo group faked a couple of photos (pre-prepared negative in camera and pretending to take photos at the location of the sighting before handing to other people to get developed) and despite the lack of evidence and the photo's not even matching the direction or description of the sightings at the time, the pictures were taken at face value as proof. And were seen that way for years until the truth was revealed.

Subject: Re: Hoaxing Fri 26 Oct 2007, 1:01 pm

Subject: Re: Hoaxing Fri 26 Oct 2007, 5:09 pm

I think one of the major problems is hoaxes tend to get lots of media coverage, which is obviousy planned by the hoaxer, whereas I dare say a lot of good research gets hardly any exposure. This will always put the hoax at the forefront of the publics mind, especially when it is eventually unmasked.