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What connects Martian pranks and empty tanks?

"Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt this programme to bring you a special bulletin. At 20 minutes before eight, central time, Professor Farrell of the Mount Jennings Observatory, Chicago, Illinois, reports several explosions of incandescent gas occurring at regular intervals on the planet Mars." 

So began one of the most famous incidents of mass misinformation in recent history1.  

Broadcast by CBS Radio in the US in 1938, a series of fake news bulletins interrupted scheduled programmes, convincing many Americans that a Martian invasion was underway in Grover’s Mill New Jersey. The bulletins used all the tricks of the trade. Eye-witness reports, sound effects and dramatic ‘on scene’ commentary all helped fake authenticity, but were in fact based on a book: The War of the Worlds, by HG Wells. 

Fast forward almost a century and social media does much the same.

  • The "toilet roll crisis"2 during the COVID-19 pandemic led to businesses enforcing limits on number of rolls customers could take home. And the great (fake) UK oil shortage in 2021 provided us with image after image of cars clogging up roads, all lining up to secure fuel3.  

    These are both notable examples of how mass panic can be spread by misinformation. But what started as fake news resulted in very real consequences. Panic buying, rather than supply chain issues, led to business interruption and commodity shortages.  

  • Businesses pay the price

    According to the World Economic Forum ‘misinformation and disinformation remain top short-term risks for the second consecutive year’ in 2025. Social media and the introduction of AI exacerbates this risk, creating a perfect storm for disruption – and businesses can pay a heavy price.  

    From business interruption, commodity shortages, and supply chain chaos – it may be easier for business leaders to contend with an alien invasion. But through the power of expertise, we can help businesses navigate the murky world of fake news, alerting them to risk, helping them to prepare, and getting them back on their feet.

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1- The Fake News of Orson Welles: The War of the Worlds at 80 | National Endowment for the Humanities 

2- How the Coronavirus Created a Toilet Paper Shortage | College of Natural Resources News 

3- Panic buying rather than shortages causing queues at UK petrol stations, AA head says | Supply chain crisis | The Guardian