Invasion from Mars!

In the piece, Invasion from Mars!, the susceptibility of people to believe and be influenced by mass broadcasts is examined. In October, 1939, Orson Welles debuted his radio adaptation of H.G. Well's book, The War of the Worlds. The play was presented as a series of news flashes interrupting a musical program on CBS. Despite the fact that disclaimers were given at a beginning and middle of the program, many people believed that there was really an invasion from Mars, and that the end of the world was at hand. Widespread panic ensued as distraught citizens attempted to escape. Some people even committed suicide rather than die at the hands of the Martians. Following the broadcast, Welles stepped out of character to reveal that it had all been a Halloween play designed to have the same effect as stepping out from behind a bush and yelling "Boo!"
People trusted the radio. They simply assumed that the news flashes were real because it was not uncommon for radio programs to be interrupted with breaking news. CBS was forced to apologize, and the FCC was inundated with angry letters.
I believe humans, on the whole, are gullible creatures. There is a section of the populous that will believe anything they hear, especially if it is channeled through the mass media. This piece brought to mind several examples, not all of them current, of the crazy things people are willing to believe if they think their lives are in danger.
In the 1950s, educational films were made for children explaining that in the event of a nuclear attack, they were to get under their desks and cover the back of their head. These films got people to actually believe that they could survive a nuclear holocaust by hiding under a table. Another, more recent example, happened just a few years ago at the turn of the century. In 1999, Y2K was the buzz word. At midnight on New Year's Eve, all the world's computers were supposed to fail--planes would fall out of the sky and nuclear weapons would launch themselves. People were scared. They went out and bought soup, water, potted meat--and of course--nothing happened. After the 9/11 attacks, Tom Ridge and the Department of Homeland Security told people that in the event of a chemical or biological terrorist attack, they would be safe if they put plastic sheeting over their doors and windows and secured it with duct tape. So let me get this straight--I'll be protected, from from some of the deadliest weapons ever devised, with some shit I can buy at Home Depot? I'm supposed to believe this? But people did. All over the country now people's home disaster kits include duct tape and plastic sheets.
Especially if there is fear of an apocalyptic, life-or-death scenario, people are willing to believe anything they hear, no matter how crazy it sounds.