Tactics for a Successful Hoax!

There are many different tactics that are used to convince the general public of a hoax, however it is how these tactics are carried out that dictate their level of persuasion. In the case of Barnum’s ‘The Life of Joice Heth’, he is able to make the hoax convincing through setting a backdrop of actual historical backgrounds. Barnum correlates his fabricated story to historical events, so that people can identify with the time period. An example of this is that he mentions how Joice was taken as a slave from Madagascar to America, which in those days was common. Barnum sets a convincing, serious tone in which he seems to be recounting the life of Joice Heth. Along with intricate details, hoaxes can be made successful, as our minds take in the written information such as Barnum’s “…year seventeen hundred and twenty…” and we immediately assume that it is factual. Barnum continuously throughout the text mentions years and details of Joice’s health and food patterns, making the story seem more realistic. Furthermore another tactic to creating a successful hoax is making the public believe that you have multiple sources to backup your story. In this case, Barnum fabricates numerous newspaper articles such as “…The New York Sunday News…”  and certificates, about Joice to solidify his story. People tend to fall into the trap of believing anything if they are under the impression that a reliable source such as the news or officials are supporting the story, even without checking the credibility of those sources. I guess one could say that it is the way society has programmed us to function in an ordered world. A tactic commonly used in hoaxes is the idea that the story is firsthand. In the case of Barnum, he creates dialogue for Joice “…Oh! That the Lord would…home quickly…” Through this method Barnum is able to give a more realistic insight into who Joice Heth was and allows the readers to delve into conversation with a fictitious character, forming a fanciful relationship with Joice and the text.