Research Paper On Balloon Boy Hoax

What is a hoax? A hoax is a humorous or malicious deception. In simpler terms, a hoax is basically a large prank that affects and tricks many people. Some of the most famous hoaxes of all time are Loch Ness Monster photo, Piltdown Man, “The Beatles” Paul McCartney died and was replaced by a look-alike, Orson Wells’ The War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast, Hitler’s Diary, and the Balloon Boy. A theory that caused the Balloon Boy Hoax, which I believe to be true, is that a couple were greedy for fame. But why did they pull off such a hoax? Was the aspect of fame really worth such a serious prank? On October 15, 2009, in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States, parents Richard and Mayurni Heene set float to a large homemade gas balloon. What made this story so scary, was that they claimed their six year old son, Falcon, was inside the balloon when it was released and without their acknowledge. Many media sites now started reporting that “Balloon Boy”, Falcon’s new nickname from
Because the family angered a whole nation in hopes to be famous and have their own reality TV show, they put themselves in danger from suspicions, interviews, and felony charges. Knowing that the whole prank was the parent’s idea, I find it a good thing that five years later, in 2014, they are the ones suffering from being called the worst parents, biggest liars and even had to ridicule over the internet before giving up on trying to claim innocence. This elaborate hoax raised so many questions everywhere, that people, are thankfully more aware of great pranks and the dangers of wanting to be famous. I personally believe that the Heene family is famous, just not in the way they want to be. They are constantly made fun of and have lost respect. Therefore, I believe the moral to be learned from this hoax is be aware, don’t lie, and don’t be willing to put your family in danger just to have a TV