#4: The Indiana “Nuclear Plant Meltdown” Hoax (1990)
In 1990, a radio DJ duo in Indianapolis aired a terrifying, unannounced emergency alert. It claimed a nearby nuclear power plant had suffered a catastrophic meltdown and radiation was heading for the city. People didn’t wait to find out if it was a joke, and they evacuated their homes. The station fired the hosts immediately, and the FCC stepped in to ban any simulated disaster alerts that didn’t have explicit station identification.
