A newspaper circulation war helped spark the Spanish-American War

Evidence

These were the days of “yellow journalism,” when media moguls like William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were at war with one another over newspaper circulation. No one is sure where the term “yellow journalism” came from in the 1890s, but it was widely understood to describe salacious, over-the-top, scandal-driven journalism that had more interest in attracting readers than in telling the truth. How bad did things get? Bad enough to start a war: “The Spanish-American War would not have occurred had not the appearance of Hearst in New York journalism precipitated a bitter battle for newspaper circulation.” — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 204

Categorization

• CANDY: A neat party fact: a press circulation rivalry literally started a war.
• SEED: Angle for piece on incentives driving misinformation long before the internet — the economics of outrage is not new.
• XREF: connects to: Spanish authorities fabricated captured letters to justify their war propaganda — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 1569; An unexplained 1898 explosion was blamed on Spain by the yellow press — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 207; Mass democratic association historically depended on newspapers to coordinate collective action — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 734

Broader Connections

• An unexplained 1898 explosion was blamed on Spain by the yellow press #corroborates (0.85) — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 207
• Spanish authorities fabricated captured letters to justify their war propaganda #corroborates (0.75) — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 1569
• Mass democratic association historically depended on newspapers to coordinate collective action #expands (0.70) — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 734