Hidden Cameras in DTV Boxes is a Hoax

LOS ANGELES - Big Brother is watching? Not quite.

Recently a video by a 28-year-old software engineer made its rounds on YouTube, purporting to show a tiny video camera and microphone hidden inside a government-subsidized DTV converter.

"I had a friend who was trying to tell me that they put cameras in these things...and the government has the ability to spy on you," Adam Chronister says in the video . "So what I did was open it up to prove them wrong, and lo and behold ... this thing does in fact have both a camera and a microphone."

His video ignited some brief paranoia. The government has issued $40 coupons to help people pay for boxes that help analog TVs convert the broadcasting industry's digital signals. "Welcome to 1984!" YouTube user SovereignBeing said, referring to George Orwell's novel about a government surveillance state. "This is nuts! I had an odd feeling when the government planned to pay for everyone get one of these," PioColby said.

But the rumors were quickly quashed after Chronister told Wired.com's blog Threat Level that it was all a hoax . Chronister apparently intended to spook his friend who had originally started the rumor about the hidden camera. Chronister said, "Wouldn't it be funny if I proved him right instead?"

Some YouTube users were pretty convinced it was a fake early on. "Cant believe there are this many people that believe anything," hillbillymoon1 said.