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Jordanian Mayor Angry Over "Alien Invasion" Prank
krou writes "Jordanian mayor Mohammed Mleihan has taken a dim view of local newspaper Al-Ghad's April Fools prank, which saw a front page story claiming that 'flying saucers flown by 3m (10ft) creatures had landed in the desert town of Jafr.' The paper claimed that communication networks had gone down, and people were fleeing the area. The mayor called the local security authorities, who combed the area, but they were unable to find any evidence of the aliens. Mr Mleihan is now considering suing because of the distress it caused to residents: 'Students didn't go to school, their parents were frightened and I almost evacuated the town's 13,000 residents. People were scared that aliens would attack them.'" I guess they've never heard of Orson Welles in Jordan.
1. Jordanians (and possibly, by extension, all Arabs) have a hilarious sense of humor.
2. Politicians EVERYWHERE are absolute morons
When some radio station you normally trust starts reporting a hoax it takes a while to figure out it's a hoax. It's happened several times.
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2005/06/29
More like screaming that you see Lincoln's Ghost in a crowded theater and causing a panic because of credulousness.
The mayor called the local security authorities, who combed the area
So... the mayor set aside common sense, skipped the whole "why don't we call the newspaper and see what their source for this story is?" and called in the marines? AND the local law enforcement ALSO failed their reality check, made no attempt to talk sense into the mayor, and headed out on their alien snipe hunt?
I say the whole group got what they deserved. The only reason the mayer is lawyering up is in retribution for a whole henhouse full of egg on his face.
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
This teaches you to be skeptical of "truths" handed to you on a platter by the media.
Though, we're not talking about reporting on "truths" that are partisan spin. We're talking about a front page report about a disaster/national security issue. You know, the kind of thing where taking the time to investigate it on your own could be costly, and that you expect has little room for intentionally misleading reporting.
In any case, it's poor form to publish a prank story implying people were in imminent danger, especially in a country like Jordan, which according to TFA is not known for pranks. I'd be angry too, since the prank had actual consequences (loss of productivity, etc).
Write your representatives! Repeal the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics!
Well, let's see...
You said that it was a "myth" that people believed the War of the Worlds broadcasts were real, and implied that nobody hearing them could possibly believe that.
Your citation only says that some reports of fear were overstated by newspapers with an agenda, and yet it acknowledges that "hundreds of thousands were frightened" (compared to a U.S. population of about 130M at the time).
Nope, not enough citation for your claim.
When you are in a region close to warring countries, how are you expected to react when an unidentified force lands and disembark ? The mayor reaction was quite sane : aerial unidentified vehicles, possibly military, were signaled to have landed by what was supposed to be a trusted channel. Doing this kind of prank in an unstable region is like shouting "fire !" with no specific reason in the middle of a crowd. It creates apparently stupid reactions but that are perfectly logical in the context of the decision maker.
Imagine a prank in the 1960 that would say that strange cigar shaped rockets were coming toward the USA. Would you blame all the sheeplish people who would rush for the shelters ?
The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
You might want to stay off the Internet every April 1. It can be a little confusing (and annoying).
God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
"Imagine a prank in the 1960 that would say that strange cigar shaped rockets were coming toward the USA. Would you blame all the sheeplish people who would rush for the shelters ?"
Yes, since they already were on the run 22 years earlier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio)
1938 was before WWII, before the cold war, and before the nuclear fear.
The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
Cos Jordan has never been invaded by a high-tech neighbour before...
Of course, when Israel invaded Jordan each time they had already been invaded in reverse. ... Or perhaps you are referring back to the crusades... where it was more about numbers than superior European medieval technology.
Frenchmen are a bunch of beret wearing, pea-balled wino weenies who spit on American flags. French women are slutty goddess incarnates who seduce every man on the street.
We're a bunch of elephant sized fat asses who smash McD BigMacs into our triple chinned faces.