The article argues that social media amplifies falsehoods because sensational stories are more compelling and comforting than awkward truths. It highlights how medicine, religion, politics — and surprisingly, archaeology — are prone to profitable misinformation. Erich von Däniken, who died aged 90, popularised ancient‑alien narratives with books such as Chariots of the Gods, helping to normalise a media style that rewards dramatic, monetisable conspiracies. The piece calls for skepticism, better public education about evidence, and respect for professional scholarship.
How Erich von Däniken’s Ancient‑Alien Claims Helped Shape the Post‑Truth Media Landscape
Erich von Däniken, who died last week, anticipated the fixation with aliens and conspiracy theories of many podcasts and documentaries - Television Stills
The internet and social platforms are saturated with falsehoods. Plain facts are often dull or uncomfortable; sensational claims, by contrast, attract attention and soothe anxieties. That dynamic helps explain why entire online ecosystems reward and amplify made‑up stories.
Why Some Topics Invite Lies
Certain subjects are especially fertile ground for misinformation. Medicine, for example, is lucrative to misrepresent because nearly everyone fears illness and death; complex science looks slow and impersonal, and spokespeople can appear arrogant and untrustworthy. The same incentives apply to religion, war and politics: dramatic fabrications here can generate fame, clicks and cash.
Archaeology’s Vulnerability
Less obviously, archaeology and ancient history are prime targets for sensational myths. Social feeds are full of recurring claims — that all the Egyptian pyramids connect to a subterranean superstructure, or that ancient "electrical batteries" prove an ultra‑advanced prehistoric civilisation. These stories are appealing because they promise hidden truths and simple, thrilling explanations for complex pasts.
The idea that the pyramids were connected by an underground structure left behind by a race of gods is popular in some quarters - Anton Petrus
The Däniken Effect
Erich von Däniken, the Swiss author who died last week aged 90, did not invent ancient‑alien ideas but he popularised them worldwide. His best‑known book, Chariots of the Gods, blended occult themes and speculative readings of archaeological remains into a compelling narrative that reached millions. Published during the late 1960s — an era of space fever and New Age curiosity — his work framed gods as visiting spacemen and presented myth and artefact as evidence of extraterrestrial intervention.
Däniken’s books were not rigorous history, and many of his claims have been debunked by scholars. Yet his style — mixing drama, selective evidence and authoritative-sounding assertions — proved highly effective. He showed how to sell fiction dressed as fact, and in doing so he helped shape a media template that later creators would exploit.
From Books to Podcasts and Platforms
Today, large social accounts, podcasts and documentary‑style videos often traffic in simplified, sensational takes on the past. Some creators monetize conspiratorial narratives — from ancient aliens to shadowy cabals — while attacking professional archaeologists as part of an alleged cover‑up. Add AI‑generated content and algorithmic amplification, and the result is an online conversation about archaeology that is frequently overwhelmed by falsehoods and sloppy speculation.
What This Means
Archaeology was an early test case for the dynamics that now dominate other fields online: attention economics, sensationalism, and monetised misinformation.
That doesn’t mean people should stop being curious about the past. Instead, readers should treat extraordinary claims with skepticism, check reputable sources, and value the slow, often less glamorous work of professional research. Understanding why sensational myths spread is the first step toward resisting them.
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