Great Moon Hoax

The "Great Moon Hoax", also known as the "Great Moon Hoax of 1835" was a series of six articles published in ''The Sun'' (a New York newspaper), beginning on August 25, 1835, about the supposed discovery of life and civilization on the Moon. The discoveries were falsely attributed to Sir John Herschel and his fictitious companion Andrew Grant.

The story was advertised on August 21, 1835, as an upcoming feature allegedly reprinted from ''The Edinburgh Courant''. The first in a series of six was published four days later on August 25. These articles were never retracted, however on September 16, 1835, ''The Sun'' admitted the articles were in fact fabricated. Provided by Wikipedia