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14
told, the reasons people fall prey to the hoax. A professor of journalism at Northwestern University, MacDougall set forth his own definition of a hoax as: “a deliberately concocted untruth made to masquerade as truth.”39 MacDougall discusses four reasons he calls “why we don’t disbelieve.” First is the notion of indifference. Essentially, the idea is that humans are “ignorant, suggestible, influenced by the prestige of a newspaper printing them [the hoaxes], glad to believe the thrilling and spectacular since it entertains as fact but would not as fiction.”40 In chuckling over the humorous side of hoaxes, MacDougall explains that the “Liars Club,” an organization that awards prizes for the biggest “whopper” of a story, actually came into existence because of a hoax. For many people tracking the legitimacy of a newspaper or other media account of an event takes more time than they care to invest. Most people selectively perceive what they hear, and they tend to believe because there is more effort required to disbelieve.
A second reason why “we don’t disbelieve” is ignorance or superstition. Lacking evidence to the contrary, people accept the faked pictures and accounts of stories handed down over time, such as the Loch Ness monster.41 People generally believe what they are taught by their parents or elders, even in the face of convincing evidence to the contrary.
The third reason is suggestion. “Suggestion” is one of the reasons that the Constitutional framers were so concerned about the ‘mischief of factions.’ The ability of the fast talkers to sway the average bloke, or the success of a suggestion,
39 Curtis D. MacDougall, Hoaxes, The MacMillan Company, New York, 1940.
40 Ibid.
41 The “loch ness monster” has been depicted, not necessarily appropriately, as a myth, legend, superstition, and a hoax. No single characterization is considered fixed or properly defined.
Object Description
| Title | An argument for the criminal hoax |
| Author | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Author email | user1963@yahoo.com; teachpolsci@yahoo.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Political Science |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-20 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-13 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Renteln, Alison Dundes |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Wong, Janelle S. Newland, Chester A. |
| Abstract | Hoaxes are part of the fabric of history. While many provide humor and lighthearted joy, the criminal hoax does not. To date, researchers have included aspects of the criminal hoax in larger academic works. This is an original typology that sets forth the criminal hoax as a distinct part of the larger field of law and public policy. This work provides newly created definitions including four distinct categories of hoaxes: the monetary hoax, the attention getter hoax, the hate crime hoax and the racial hoax. It further illustrates these types with actual detailed accounts of hoaxes and provides insights to each one. It makes policy recommendations concerning the four categories of needs: 1. legislative action, 2. a nationwide statistical database of hoax events, 3. media involvement, and 4. law enforcement training and action to deal with criminal hoaxes. Finally, it recommends further research to identify the causes and motivations of vipers. The ultimate goal of this project is to find ways to eliminate criminal hoaxes. |
| Keyword | criminal hoax; hoax categories |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1659 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Pellegrini-2397 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Pellegrini-2397.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 20 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 14 told, the reasons people fall prey to the hoax. A professor of journalism at Northwestern University, MacDougall set forth his own definition of a hoax as: “a deliberately concocted untruth made to masquerade as truth.”39 MacDougall discusses four reasons he calls “why we don’t disbelieve.” First is the notion of indifference. Essentially, the idea is that humans are “ignorant, suggestible, influenced by the prestige of a newspaper printing them [the hoaxes], glad to believe the thrilling and spectacular since it entertains as fact but would not as fiction.”40 In chuckling over the humorous side of hoaxes, MacDougall explains that the “Liars Club,” an organization that awards prizes for the biggest “whopper” of a story, actually came into existence because of a hoax. For many people tracking the legitimacy of a newspaper or other media account of an event takes more time than they care to invest. Most people selectively perceive what they hear, and they tend to believe because there is more effort required to disbelieve. A second reason why “we don’t disbelieve” is ignorance or superstition. Lacking evidence to the contrary, people accept the faked pictures and accounts of stories handed down over time, such as the Loch Ness monster.41 People generally believe what they are taught by their parents or elders, even in the face of convincing evidence to the contrary. The third reason is suggestion. “Suggestion” is one of the reasons that the Constitutional framers were so concerned about the ‘mischief of factions.’ The ability of the fast talkers to sway the average bloke, or the success of a suggestion, 39 Curtis D. MacDougall, Hoaxes, The MacMillan Company, New York, 1940. 40 Ibid. 41 The “loch ness monster” has been depicted, not necessarily appropriately, as a myth, legend, superstition, and a hoax. No single characterization is considered fixed or properly defined. |
