Why were so many americans tricked by orson welles in his radio play, the war of the worlds?
It was a show that Orson Welles hosted, not played in, so when he reported on the fictional events, it may have been more believable. It was on radio, the only mass medium, so it was easier to have actors playing news correspondents report on the events as they were supposedly happening. Not that many people must have read H G Wells’ book to know that it was fiction. Having been through the Depression and with World War II going on in Europe, many people may have thought that Earth’s fate had been abandoned. I have heard it repeated on a local AM radio station and it would not fool a 4 year old today.
