The Hypodermic needle model from the 1940s suggested that audiences passively accept media messages without critical thinking, like receiving injections from a needle (Theorist: Herta Herzog). It viewed audiences as passive receivers of media content. This theory has been criticized for not considering that audiences can think critically about media and be influenced in varying degrees rather than just blindly accepting messages. For example, the 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast caused widespread panic in America not just due to the messages but because of audience tensions before World War 2.