Quote Originally Posted by Breukelen advocaat
Radio was the culprit in 1938 when people panicked during the broadcast of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, performed by Orson Welles' Mercury Theater Group. In the broadcasted story, a Martian spaceship lands in New Jersey, and the Martians attack New York.

George Orwell had nothing to do with that, but I'm sure that somebody out there associates him with the incident.

"War of the Worlds": Behind the 1938 Radio Show Panic
Wells, Welles, and Orwell. I guess all's well that ends well.