I mean, it's sooo obvious! I picked up on it the first time I read
Exodus.
And James was only seven at the time!
The scariest thing about sensationalistic fear mongering is the large
number of people who believe it. How many people reacted to Y2K fear
mongering by essentially or literally going underground with a huge
store of supplies?
Whether PT Barnum was the first to say it or not, there's a sucker
born every minute. Today, probably many per minute.