Exploring the limits of satire

From the current issue of The Week Magazine:

Belgium - Last week, the French-language television station RTBF played a hoax on its viewers, and they are not amused. The station interrupted its broadcast with the news that Flanders, the Flemish-speaking part of the country, had declared independence. A shaken anchor said the king had fled. "Correspondents" stood outside Flemish government buildings interviewing grave-faced politicians. The show was convincing. French-speaking viewers wept by the thousands at the collapse of their country, and foreign embassies began phoning Brussels. The broadcast went on for many minutes before RTBF displayed a message confessing that the news was fake, a "dramatization" intended to provoke debate. The country erupted in fury. Parliament has opened an inquiry and threatened RTBF with everything from fines to outright closure.