http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6178671.stmBelgians reacted with widespread alarm to news that their country had been split in two - before finding out they had been spoofed.
The Belgian public television station RTBF ran a bogus report saying the Dutch-speaking half of the nation had declared independence.
Later it said Wednesday night's programme was meant to stir up debate.
It appears to have succeeded. Thousands of people made panicked calls to the station and politicians complained.
"It's very bad Orson Welles, in very poor taste," said a spokesman for Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, referring to the famous director's 1938 radio adaptation of War of the Worlds. That spoof fooled many Americans into believing Martians had invaded.
We obviously scared many people - maybe more than we expected
Yves Thiran
RTBF head of news
"In the current context, it's irresponsible for a public television channel to announce the end of Belgium as a reality presented by genuine journalists," he added.
The French-language TV channel interrupted regular programming with an apparent news report, announcing that Dutch-speaking Flanders had unilaterally declared independence and that Belgium as a nation had ceased to exist.
It showed "live" pictures of cheering crowds holding the Flemish flag, huge traffic jams leading to Brussels airport, and trams stuck at the new "border".
An RTBF reporter
RTBF showed shots of flag-waving independence supporters
The broadcast came amid an apparent growth of separatist sentiment in Flanders.
Recent regional elections have shown strong support for the far-right, nationalist Vlaams Belang party, which advocates Flemish independence.
The station's website crashed briefly as alarmed viewers sought more information, and 2,600 calls were made to a telephone number given out during the spoof.
"Our intention was to show Belgian viewers the intensity of the issue of the future of Belgium and the real possibility of Belgium no longer being a country in a few months," Yves Thiran, head of news at RTBF, told the BBC.
He said it introduced people to the debate who would otherwise have ignored it, but he admitted some may have taken it the wrong way.
"We obviously scared many people - maybe more than we expected," he said.
Diplomatic reaction
Some politicians were in on the joke, contributing interviews to the programme with their reactions to the "news". But others were not amused.
The minister for audiovisual affairs for the French-speaking community, Fadila Laanan, said the words "this is fiction" appeared on screen half an hour into the broadcast - at her insistence.
"I find it questionable to use such a tactic, which frightened people unbelievably," she said, adding that a number of people had called her in panic when the "news" broke.
The AFP news agency reported that even some foreign ambassadors in Brussels were taken in, and sent urgent messages back to their respective capitals.
Wasn't that in the 30s? I think you're talking about the time he said Aliens ahd invaded earth, right?sacha wrote:LOL that's just like what Wells did with The War of the Worlds in the 40s (not sure of that anyway).
I find it funny but apparently, the people in Belgium did not really appreciate it
Must have been pretty scary to hear and all! Yes you're right it was during the 30s because people did not have TV yet actually !Bleixmaster wrote:Wasn't that in the 30s? I think you're talking about the time he said Aliens ahd invaded earth, right?
Mind u but at some point Belium didn't existwolfway wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IsWT5jCcuo
that's the beginning of the "news". they really made LOTS of video. they showed a train that stopped at a station, which had lots of flemmish flags, and a train guard (dnno how it's called in english) yells "everybody show your papers, you are now entering the flemmish part of belgium" or other vehicles that may not pass the border anymore.
they also showed footage of the king leaving the palace, taking a plane, flemmish people partying, ... really lots of footage
89% of the french part of belgium believed it was real, 8% kept believing it after it was told it was fake. LOL
I think it's pretty funny, but that's because i don't care about politics
It was a part of Holland from 1815 (Vienna Congress) up 'till 1830......but some play at the Royal Theater in Bruxelles fueled riots or something and a revolutionary movement took over and declared independence......
