Dateline NBC’s staged GM-truck fire report

A 1992 Dateline NBC report showed what appeared to be a General Motors pickup bursting into flames after a side impact crash. The footage looked convincing enough to make the truck's safety seem like the obvious issue, but what happened after the broadcast completely changed the story.

The vehicle used in the segment was eventually tracked down in a junkyard, where investigators found an incendiary device that had been placed inside it. The fire shown on television had been deliberately produced rather than simply being the result of the crash, meaning a crucial part of the demonstration had been staged.

The fallout was immediate. NBC eventually issued an on air apology, the president of its news division resigned, and three producers were dismissed. What started as a television report about the safety of a GM truck ended up becoming a much bigger story about how a major news organization had presented a manufactured event as evidence.