Some months before the 2010s began, a shiny silver disc floated above the snowy mountains of Colorado. Trapped inside this balloon was a 6-year-old boy, his parents claimed. A feverish and widely televised rescue operation ensued. Military helicopters patrolled the air; the Denver airport briefly shut down. When the balloon finally fell to the ground, there was no boy inside. Later he was discovered in his parents’ attic, toys and snacks in tow. A CNN interview that evening suggested the whole thing was a hoax, especially after the boy, appearing beside his parents, said, “You guys said that, um, we did this for the show.” The balloon boy incident was our first taste of the 2010s — a decade of scams and ruses, of Donald Trump and Pizzagate, an era in which Americans learned that they shouldn’t believe anyone or anything.
New York Times: 10 years of scammers, conspiracy theories and fake news
A misinformation newsstand is seen in midtown Manhattan on Oct. 30, 2018, aiming to educate news consumers about the dangers of disinformation, or fake news, in the lead-up to the US midterm elections.
