Boy howdy, when The Experts swallow a hoax, they really swallow it–hook, line, and sinker.
In 1796 all England was agog: a lost Shakespeare play had been found, and would be performed at Drury Lane. The Experts were all swooning over it.
The actors saw through the hoax while they were acting the play. The hoaxer himself admitted what he’d done.
And yet somehow, after all this embarrassment, The Experts were still… The Experts! Yup, still there, still pontificating, still being listened to. Once an expert, always an expert, I guess.