In 1938, actor Orson Welles hosted a radio broadcast dramatizing H. G. Wells's science fiction classic The War of the Worlds. A CBS radio dance-music program was interrupted suddenly by a news bulletin informing the audience that Martians had landed in New Jersey and were in the process of conquering Earth. The ensuing reaction was an example of ____________.
A) mass hysteria
B) propaganda
C) public opinion
D) mass mob behavior

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The reaction to the radio broadcast was an example of mass hysteria, as many listeners believed the fictional story to be real and panicked.

In 1938, Actor Orson Welles Hosted a Radio Broadcast Dramatizing