THE Spanish-American War of 1898 is considered both a turning point in the history of propaganda and the beginning of fake news.
It was the first conflict in which military action was precipitated by media involvement. The conflict grew out of American interest in a fight for revolution between the Spanish military and citizens of their Cuban colony. American newspapers fanned the flames of interest in the revolution by fabricating atrocities, which justified intervention in a number of Spanish colonies worldwide, including the Philippines.
Several forces within America were pushing for a war with Spain. Their tactics were wide-ranging and their goal was to engage the opinion of the American people in any way possible. Men such as William Randolph Hearst, the owner of The New York Journal, was involved in a circulation war with Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World, and saw the conflict as a way to sell newspapers. Many newspapers ran articles of a sensationalist nature and sent correspondents to Cuba to cover the revolution. Correspondents had to evade Spanish authorities. Usually, they were unable to get reliable news and relied heavily on informants for their stories. Many stories were derived from second or third-hand accounts and were either elaborated, misrepresented, or completely fabricated by journalists to enhance their dramatic effect. Theodore Roosevelt, who was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy at this time, wanted to use the conflict to help heal the wounds still fresh from the American Civil War, and to increase the strength of the Navy, while simultaneously establishing America as a major presence on the world stage. Roosevelt put pressure on Congress to come to the aid of the Cuban people. He emphasized Cuban weakness and femininity to justify America’s military intervention.
Before the mysterious sinking of the American battleship, the USS Maine, in Havana Harbor, one American media correspondent stationed in Cuba was quoted as saying that the American people were being greatly deceived by reporters sent to cover the revolution. According to him, an overwhelming majority of the stories were obtained through third-hand information often relayed by their Cuban interpreters and informants. These people were often sympathetic to the revolution and would distort the facts to shed a positive light on the revolution. Routinely small skirmishes would become large battles. Cuban oppression was depicted through inhumane treatment, torture, rape, and mass pillaging by the Spanish forces. These stories revealed heaps of dead men, women, and children left on the side of the road. Correspondents rarely bothered to confirm facts; they simply passed the stories on to their editors in America, where they would be put into publication after further editing and misrepresentation. Fake news swept the nation and its propaganda helped to precipitate American military action.
The two newspaper owners credited with starting and developing fake news were Hearst and Pulitzer. The two were fighting a circulation battle in New York City. Through their disregard for responsible journalism, the two men are commonly credited with leading America into the Spanish-American War. Their stories swayed American public opinion to believe that the Cuban people were being unjustly persecuted by the Spanish, and that the only way for them to gain their independence was through American intervention. Hearst and Pulitzer made their stories credible by self-assertion and providing false names, dates, and locations of skirmishes and atrocities committed by the Spanish. They also claimed that their facts could be substantiated by the government.
Frederic Remington, an artist hired by Hearst to provide illustrations to accompany a series of articles on the Cuban Revolution, soon became bored with seemingly peaceful Cuba and wired Hearst in January 1897:
“Everything is quiet. There is no trouble. There will be no war. I wish to return.” To which Hearst’s alleged reply was: “Please remain. You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.”
In the days following the sinking of the USS Maine, Hearst ran a story with the heading “The War Ship Maine was Split in Two by an Enemy’s Secret Infernal Machine.” The story told how the Spanish had planted a torpedo beneath the USS Maine and detonated it from shore. Hearst soon followed this article with one containing diagrams and blueprints of the secret torpedoes used by Spain. Captain Sigsbee of the USS Maine telegrammed the Secretary of the Navy and stated that judgment and opinion should be suspended until further confirmation. At the Court of Naval Inquiry, Sigsbee maintained a mine was responsible for sinking his ship. The Court found the same, but was unable to find evidence to attribute the sinking to “any person or persons.”
Many stories like the one published by Hearst were printed across the country blaming the Spanish military for the destruction of the USS Maine. These stories struck a chord with the American people. They stirred public opinion up into a divided frenzy, with a large group of Americans wanting to attack and another wanting to wait for confirmation. The Americans that wanted to attack wanted to remove Spain from power in many of her colonies that were close to America. Those easily persuaded by fake news eventually prevailed, and American troops invaded Cuba.
Having clamored for a fight for two years, Hearst took credit for the conflict when it came: A week after America declared war on Spain, he ran “How do you like the Journal’s war?” on his front page.
After its defeat, Spain ceded its longstanding colony of the Philippines to America in the Treaty of Paris for $20 million. The treaty ended the Spanish-American War, marked the end of the Spanish Empire, began the age of America as a world power, and institutionalized fake news.
Eric Jurado writes about the values of personal and economic freedom, and their importance in advancing peace, prosperity, and human progress.