The hypodermic needle theory from the 1940s-1950s suggested that mass media had a direct and powerful influence on audiences by "injecting" them with messages that would trigger desired responses. It viewed audiences as passive receivers who uncritically accepted whatever messages they were exposed to via radio, television, advertising, and propaganda. This theory is now considered outdated as later research found that audiences interact with media in more complex ways and are not uniformly influenced. The radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds" led some listeners to mistakenly believe the fictional story of a Martian invasion was real news, demonstrating how early audiences may have passively accepted media messages. However, the hypodermic needle theory fails to account for differences