Would the same panic occur if the War of the World Scandal occurred today?

Absolutely.

As a society we are fooled by similar stunts all the time.  We reflect back and form opinions about those that were tricked by the radio programs.  How many times has media tricked us in the current era?

A website exists at snopes.com that has only one purpose...end internet hoax's.  Email forwards, miscommunication, and lies have spread about every topic you could imagine.  People believe these stories.  Some are just harmless jokes and others are deceptive strategies that are designed to trick a person out of money.  Ever hear of the Nigerian phone scam?  The internet is the medium being used instead of the radio.  People fall for these all of the time.

About a decade ago a movie was released called "The Blair Witch Hunt" which depicted 3 individuals looking for a ghost/witch in a small town.  The advertisements for the movie depicted missing posters for the 3 individuals and presented the movie as real.  Many people thought this was a real documentary and not a production!  Not everybody, but some.

Even though technology has increased and access to information is unprecedented.  We are still gullible and can fall for hoax's, good advertising, and lies.