A hoax implies deliberate fraud. Many scientific theories turn out to be wrong, but are not hoaxes. Newtonian mechanics or the Bohr atom model, for example.
This was not the case of a theory being wrong. He's making the case that the device they show can not possibly have the characteristics the makers claim. And it's hard to say that's not deliberate. At a minimum grossly negligent.
The experiments that lead to the development of Newtonian mechanics (the Copernican laws, for example) are still valid. It's just their interpretation that has changed.
