Conan the Doyle was not averse to a few of his own hoaxes.

eg the Marie Celeste was actually the Mary Celeste and even when the story was written most naval assessors would have put the whole thing together and concluded that carrying a cargo of industrial alcohol in wooden barrels with steel hoops would produce an explosive atmosphere and sparks - in a storm especially. Captain & crew (including his wife & 1 daughter) would escape to the lifeboat until they felt safe and if the lost the tow in the swell......................

Now who could possibly dress-up that story 10/20 years later and present it knowing people would think it was fact?

Which is exactly how newspapers try it on. One publishes, the next one reports what is published and it becomes de faco long after the libel case. If they had integrity they would publish retractions on the front page as prominently as they lie. They never do - unless (show me!) it is used to diminish the libel settlement - win win.

I'm afraid when you study engineering - the "way it is" is the only way to deal/use/cope/improve it.

State it is not entirely true and you have integrity, they don't do that. Not with pictures. The dust bowl pictures - now we know, they didn't then.