|
Hoax
A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into putting up the highest possible social currency in support of the hoax. Whereas the promoters of frauds, fakes, and scams devise them so that they will withstand the highest degree of scrutiny customary in the affair, hoaxers are confident, justifiably or not, that their representations will receive no scrutiny at all. They have such confidence because their representations belong to a world of notions fundamental to the victims' views of reality, but whose truth and importance they accept without argument or evidence, and so never question. Some hoaxers intend eventually to unmask their representations as in fact a hoax so as to expose their victims as fools; seeking some form of profit, other hoaxers hope to maintain the hoax indefini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fake News Website
Fake news websites (also referred to as hoax news websites) are Website, websites on the Internet that deliberately publish fake news—hoaxes, propaganda, and disinformation purporting to be news, real news—often using social media to drive web traffic and amplify their effect. Unlike news satire, fake news websites deliberately seek to be perceived as legitimate and taken at face value, often for financial or political gain. Such sites have promoted political falsehoods in India, Germany, Indonesia and the Philippines, Sweden, Mexico, Myanmar, and the United States. Many sites originate in, or are promoted by, Russia, North Macedonia, and Romania, among others. Some media analysts have seen it as a threat to democracy. In 2016, the European Parliament's European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, Committee on Foreign Affairs passed a resolution warning that the Russian government was using "pseudo-news agencies" and Internet trolls as disinformation propaganda to weaken c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Stock Exchange Fraud Of 1814
The Great Stock Exchange Fraud of 1814 was a hoax or fraud centered on false information about the Napoleonic Wars, affecting the London Stock Exchange in 1814. The du Bourg hoax On the morning of Monday, 21 February 1814, a uniformed man posing as Colonel du Bourg, aide-de-camp to Lord Cathcart, arrived at the Ship Inn at Dover, England, bearing news that Napoleon I of France had been killed and the Bourbons were victorious. Requesting this information to be relayed on to the Admiralty in London via semaphore telegraph, "Colonel du Bourg" proceeded on toward London, stopping at each inn on the way to spread the good news. Three "French officers" dressed in Bourbon uniforms were also seen celebrating in London, and proclaiming the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. Effects on the stock market Rumours of Napoleon's defeat had been circulating throughout the month, and the combined events had a significant impact on the London Stock Exchange. The value of government securities so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Practical Joke
A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. A person who performs a practical joke is called a "practical joker" or "prankster". Other terms for practical jokes include gag, rib, jape, or shenanigan. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks or hoaxes in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being talked into handing over money or other valuables. Practical jokes are generally lighthearted and without lasting effect; they aim to make the victim feel humbled or foolish, but not victimized or humiliated. Thus most practical jokes are affectionate gestures of humour and designed to encourage laughter. However, practical jokes performed with cruelty can constitute bullying, whose intent is to harass or exclude rather than reinforce social bonds throug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chain Letters
A chain letter is a message that attempts to convince the recipient to make a number of copies and pass them on to a certain number of recipients. The "chain" is an exponentially growing pyramid (a tree graph) that cannot be sustained indefinitely. Common methods used in chain letters include emotionally manipulative stories, get-rich-quick pyramid schemes, and the exploitation of superstition to threaten the recipient. Originally, chain letters were letters sent by mail; today, chain letters are often sent electronically via email, social network sites, and text messages. Types There are two main types of chain letter: # Hoaxes: Hoaxes attempt to trick or defraud users. A hoax could be malicious, instructing users to delete a file necessary to the operating system by claiming it is a virus. It could also be a scam that convinces users to spread the letter to other people for a specific reason, or send money or personal information. Phishing attacks could fall into this. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Ady
Thomas Ady (fl. 17th century) was an English physician and humanist who was the author of two sceptical books on witchcraft and witch-hunting. His first and best known work, ''A Candle in the Dark: Or, A Treatise Concerning the Nature of Witches & Witchcraft'', was used unsuccessfully by George Burroughs, formerly the Puritan minister of the parish, in his defense during the Salem witch trials.''In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692'', p. 251, by Mary Beth Norton Ady's second publication, published in 1661, was a reprint of his first, with a new title, ''A Perfect Discovery of Witches''. The work could have been re-named in honour of Reginald Scot's '' Discoverie of Witchcraft'', the first book of its kind in the English language. But pamphlets about cases of witchcraft tended to use 'Discovery' in their titles (''The most strange and admirable discouerie of the three witches of Warboys'', ''The vvonderfull discouerie of witches in the countie of Lancaster ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chain Letter
A chain letter is a message that attempts to convince the recipient to make a number of copies and pass them on to a certain number of recipients. The "chain" is an exponentially growing pyramid (a tree graph) that cannot be sustained indefinitely. Common methods used in chain letters include emotionally manipulative stories, get-rich-quick pyramid schemes, and the exploitation of superstition to threaten the recipient. Originally, chain letters were letters sent by mail; today, chain letters are often sent electronically via email, social network sites, and text messages. Types There are two main types of chain letter: # Hoaxes: Hoaxes attempt to trick or defraud users. A hoax could be malicious, instructing users to delete a file necessary to the operating system by claiming it is a virus. It could also be a scam that convinces users to spread the letter to other people for a specific reason, or send money or personal information. Phishing attacks could fall into thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drummer Of Tedworth
The Drummer of Tedworth is a case of an alleged poltergeist manifestation in the West Country of England by Joseph Glanvill, from his book '' Saducismus Triumphatus'' (1681). History Early accounts reported that in 1661 a local landowner, John Mompesson, owner of a house in the town of Tedworth (now called Tidworth, in Wiltshire), had brought a lawsuit against an unlicensed vagrant drummer William Drury, whom he accused of collecting money by false pretences. After he had won judgment against the drummer, the drum was turned over to Mompesson by the local bailiff. Mompesson then found his house plagued by nocturnal drumming noises. It was alleged that the drummer had brought these plagues of noise upon Mompesson's head by witchcraft. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have used malevolent magic against their own community, and often to have communed with evil beings. It was thought witchcraft could be thwarted by protective magic or counter-magic, which could be provided by cunning folk or folk healers. Suspected witches were also intimidated, banished, attacked or killed. Often they would be formally prosecuted and punished, if found guilty or simply believed to be guilty. European witch-hunts and witch trials in the early modern period led to tens of thousands of executions. In some regions, many of those accused of witchcraft were folk healers or midwives. European belief in witchcraft gradually dwindled during and after the Age of Enlightenment. Contemporary cultures that believe in magic and the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folklorist
Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the academic study of traditional culture from the folklore artifacts themselves. It became established as a field across both Europe and North America, coordinating with ''Volkskunde'' (German), ''folkeminner'' (Norwegian), and ''folkminnen'' (Swedish), among others. Overview The importance of folklore and folklore studies was recognized globally in 1982 in the UNESCO document "Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore". UNESCO again in 2003 published a Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Parallel to these global statements, the American Folklife Preservation Act (P.L. 94-201), passed by the United States Congress in conjunction with the Bicenten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Nares
Robert Nares (9 June 1753, York – 23 March 1829) was an English clergyman, philologist and author. Life He was born at York in 1753, the son of James Nares (1715–1783), organist of York Minster and educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. From 1779 to 1783 he lived with the family of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet as tutor to his sons Watkin and Charles, staying in London and at Wynnstay, Wrexham. In June 1782 he became vicar of Easton Maudit, Northamptonshire and in 1785 vicar of Great Doddington, Northamptonshire. From 1786 to 1788 he was Usher at Westminster School, again as tutor to the Williams-Wynn boys who had been sent there. In 1787 he was appointed Chaplain to the Duke of York and in 1788 he was Assistant preacher at Lincoln's Inn. In 1795 he was appointed Assistant Librarian in the Department of Manuscript at the British Museum, and four years later was promoted to Keeper of Manuscripts. He became vicar of Dalbury, Derbyshir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Harold Brunvand
Jan Harold Brunvand (born March 23, 1933) is a retired American folklorist, researcher, writer, public speaker, and professor emeritus of English at the University of Utah. Brunvand is best known for popularizing the concept of the urban legend, a form of modern folklore or story telling. Urban legends are "too good to be true" stories that travel by word of mouth, by print, or by the internet and are attributed to an FOAF: friend of a friend. "Urban legends," Brunvand says, "have a persistent hold on the imagination because they have an element of suspense or humor, they are plausible and they have a moral." Though criticized for the "popular" rather than "academic" orientation of his books, ''The Vanishing Hitchhiker'' and others, Brunvand felt that it was a "natural and worthwhile part of his job as a folklorist to communicate the results of his research to the public." For his lifetime dedication to the field of folklore, which included radio and television appearances, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hocus Pocus (magic)
Hocus-pocus is a reference to the actions of magicians, often as the stereotypical magic words spoken when bringing about some sort of change. It was once a common term for a magician, juggler, or other similar entertainers. In extended usage, the term is often used (pejoratively) to describe irrational human activities that appear to depend on magic. Examples are given below. Examples of the extended use of the term hocus-pocus ''Those relating to divination or other activity by one practitioner working in isolation:'' Haruspication (divination by inspection of entrails), and necromancy. ''Those relating to a magical connection between two or more people:'' Subconscious direction, cross-dreaming, extrasensory perception, split subjectivity, telepathy, clairvoyance, channelling, psychic transcription, ‘faculty X’, ‘mind energy’. History The earliest known English-language work on magic, or what was then known as '' legerdemain'' (sleight of hand), was published ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.png "Click for more on -> Hoax")
