Significados de mere hoax en inglés

Some writers even hinted that the line was a mere hoax, and others pronounced it a stock exchange speculation.

It is a mere hoax.

Was it a mere hoax?

Southern malcontents maintained that this act was a mere hoax, using words which suggested concession when no concession was intended.

A very brief examination of the paper convinced me that it was not only a mere hoax, but a very clumsy one.