Distinction Between Literature & a Hoax

A hoax is something that tries to convince people of a usually false or fabricated claim, topic, event etc. Though often hoaxes contain fictitious assertions, not all hoaxes need to be a lie. More so, a hoax can be something that is drawing a lot of attention or something unintentionally untrue. But the idea of fiction versus non-fiction and created versus fact are not as clear-cut as one would imagine. Part of what makes the concept of a hoax so complex is the involvement of the notion of literature. The relationship between the two is interrelating; with hoax at the overlap of literature- a gray area full of nuances. Broadly speaking, literature is something that is written at some point in time that someone decided was important. But it is hard to classify what is literature and what is hoax because period of time and intent play a large role. Something that could have been held true 200 years ago, may not necessarily still be believed as such but does that change the intent from fact to fiction? Literature is something that is confined by its historical period, and should be treated as thus. Taking the idea that literature, as a word is objective, then how can one make a clear distinction between a hoax and literature?