He hoaxed his friends by spreading a fake story about an alien invasion.

hoaxed 是动词 hoax 的过去式，hoax 的意思是"欺骗、愚弄"，特指通过编造虚假信息或故事来戏弄他人。hoax 通常带有恶作剧性质，不是出于恶意伤害的目的。