Atlantic Crossed in Three Days! -- By Balloon

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This was the headline that appeared on the front page of the New York Sun on April 13, 1844. Written by journalist Edgar Allan Poe, the article -- unbeknownst to the Sun and its readers -- was wholly fabricated by Poe, a consummate hoaxer. The story later became known as the Great Balloon Hoax (read original article in full). Here's an article about the Hoax from Smithsonian:

On April 13, 1844 a broadside, or 'extra page,' appeared in the midday issue of the New York Sun (the same newspaper that ran the Great Moon Hoax back in 1835) announcing that the famous European balloonist Monck Mason had succeeded in flying across the Atlantic Ocean in 75 hours. If true, this would have been a remarkable achievement—the first time the Atlantic had ever been crossed in a balloon.

The balloon, named the Victoria, had apparently taken off from England on a trip to Paris, but had been blown off course due to a propeller accident and ended up floating across the Atlantic and landing on Sullivan's Island, near Charleston, South Carolina.

The story was quickly revealed to be a hoax, authored by Edgar Allan Poe. Monck, however, was a real person who had ballooned from London to Weilburg, Germany in 1836, a journey which he had described in 1837 in a book entitled Account of the Late Aeronautical Expedition from London to Weilburg.

On the day of the article's publication, Poe stood on the steps of the Sun's building in New York City telling crowds that his own story was a hoax. But apparently, amidst the general excitement, not many people paid attention to him.

He later wrote an account in the Columbia Spy of the scene following the publication of the balloon news: "On the morning (Saturday) of its announcement, the whole square surrounding the 'Sun' building was literally besieged, blocked up—ingress and egress being alike impossible, from a period soon after sunrise until about two o'clock P.M.... I never witnessed more intense excitement to get possession of a newspaper. As soon as the few first copies made their way into the streets, they were bought up, at almost any price, from the news-boys, who made a profitable speculation beyond doubt. I saw a half-dollar given, in one instance, for a single paper, and a shilling was a frequent price. I tried, in vain, during the whole day, to get possession of a copy."

Sassaman, Richard. "The Tell-Tale Hoax." Smithsonian 1993 8(3): 80-89.