Editing Hoax (section)

==History==
{{see also|History of propaganda}}

Zhang Yingyu's ''[[The Book of Swindles]]'' ({{circa}} 1617), published during the late [[Ming dynasty]], is said to be China's first collection of stories about fraud, swindles, hoaxes, and other forms of deception.<ref>{{cite book | first1=Christopher | last1=Rea | first2=Bruce | last2=Rusk | chapter=Translators' Introduction | title=The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection | location=New York | publisher=Columbia University Press | year=2017 | page=1}}</ref> Although [[practical joke]]s have likely existed for thousands of years, one of the earliest recorded hoaxes in Western history was the [[drummer of Tedworth]] in 1661.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WaT5XC9BptIC&q=earliest%20historical%20recorded%20hoax&pg=PA32|title=Paranormal Nation: Why America Needs Ghosts, UFOs, and Bigfoot|first=Marc E.|last=Fitch|year= 2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0313382079}}</ref>  The communication of hoaxes can be accomplished in almost any manner that a fictional story can be communicated:  in person, via [[word of mouth]], via words printed on paper, and so on.  As [[communications technology]] has advanced, the speed at which hoaxes spread has also advanced:  a rumour about a ghostly drummer, spread by word of mouth, will affect a relatively small area at first, then grow gradually.  However, hoaxes could also be spread via [[chain letters]], which became easier as the cost of mailing a letter dropped.  The invention of the [[printing press]] in the 15th century brought down the cost of a mass-produced books and pamphlets, and the [[rotary printing press]] of the 19th century reduced the price even further (see [[yellow journalism]]).  During the 20th century, the hoax found a mass market in the form of [[supermarket tabloid]]s, and by the 21st century there were [[fake news website]]s which spread hoaxes via [[social networking]] websites (in addition to the use of email for a modern type of [[chain letter]]).