Travel to Africa and visit Zimbabwe.
The disaster that never happened. Around the world, the news went out: Plane accident in Zimbabwe, black smoke on runway, ambulances flying in.
Harare airport authorities fooled the public and the world’s media into believing a security drill Thursday was an airplane crash to make the drill and the emergency response more real.
This practice has been used elsewhere, but is seen as extremely risky in a world where panic is only a few tweets or clicks away.
Financial markets appeared unperturbed by Thursday’s event in economically and politically isolated Zimbabwe. But the drill disrupted hospital staff in the country’s capital, confused airport passengers, and incited worries about its effect on the struggling air industry.
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