The 'Great Moon Hoax' began in a New York newspaper

On August 25, 1835, the New York Sun ran a front-page story headlined “Great Astronomical Discoveries lately made by Sir John Herschel.” Over six installments, the paper claimed the famed astronomer had spotted Moon-dwelling life through a giant telescope at the Cape of Good Hope: forests, oceans, beaches, two-legged beavers, unicorns, and furry winged humanoids resembling bats.

None of it was true. The reports, likely written by Sun reporter Richard Adams Locke, were satire aimed at overheated speculation about extraterrestrials. Herschel had no idea his name was being used.

Readers took the bait so completely that the hoax became a circulation triumph for the fledgling penny press.

The series helped cement the Sun as a mass-market paper and showed how cheaply printed sensation could outrun fact. The paper finally admitted the fabrication weeks later, but the episode endures as an early lesson in media credulity.