[October 25, 2018] More than 100 years ago “fake news” was so common – even in the most respected newspapers – that it is referred to as one of the greatest travesties ever in the history of journalism. Interestingly, it began with the Battle of the Yellow Kids in the 1890s and expanded to falsehoods that encompassed the entire news media.
The corruption and lies really took off with the publication of the Yellow Kid; that baby-faced, buck-tooth street urchin who graced the comic strips of all major newspapers. Drawn by Richard Outcault, the Kid first appeared in Joseph Pulitzer’s the New York World. The Kid’s popularity actually increased the circulation of the paper so much so that imitations of the Kid cropped up and expanded to all sections of the press.1
In 1896, William Randolph Hearst offered Outcault an outrageously high fee to bring the Kid over to his New York Journal. Outcault accepted and that further fueled a heated rivalry between Pulitzer and Hearst. Both Pulitzer and Hearst battled to give their competing Yellow Kids more page space. This began a trend of journalistic decline that sacrificed integrity and honesty for greater circulation.
New York Press editor Ervin Wardman noted that competing papers have finally sunk so low as to replace news content with comic strips. He called it “Yellow-Kid Journalism.” Eventually, this was shortened to “Yellow Journalism” which symbolized the deterioration in ethics and standards, so common today.2
Fake News or Yellow Journalism has been with us for a long time. The intentional distortion of the truth is a sad and sorted story that may never be cured. I wrote about this and gave examples over a year ago when I published my thoughts of the U.S. media from my record books from the Iraq War in 2005-2006 (see link here).
The Yellow Kid was first published in the New York Journal on Sunday, October 24, 1897.
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- http://mentalfloss.com/article/48736/innocent-origin-yellow-journalism-how-yellow-kid-fueled-pulitzerhearst-rivalry
- There are many journalists today that believe the idea of Yellow Journalism was a racial slur to Asians. It was not but does show that distortion of the truth is a result of declining ethical standards in the media.
interesting! Very Interesting!
I’m old enough to remember reading about this in class on social studies back in High School. We laughed about how stupid people were to believe what they read in the papers in the 1890s. Now I’m thinking maybe they are smarter than most people today.
Yes, how unexpected.
Good article today on how people love handouts.
Over Half Of America Gets More In Welfare Than It Pays In Taxes
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-24/more-half-america-gets-more-welfare-it-pays-taxes
I’m a little late getting to read your blog this morning but looks like another good post that provides a valuable lesson about people and leadership. Thanks for that. Regarding the caravan coming up from SA, the rule of law is important. How people react to it will tell us about their belief in the rule of law.
Well said.
I’ll be using this as an example in my history classroom today and somehow work it into my coaching of football players after school somehow. Thanks for a new look at fake news.
Perfect timing on this blog post, Gen. Satterfield. Yellow journalism – the old name of fake news – is on the rise across the globe. Don’t believe what you read in the papers or see on tv. Only a small part of what is there is actually true. Most of it is highly distorted.
Good article. Thanks.
I wonder if our mass media is covering the burning of the US Flag by the immigrant caravan coming up from South America? That’s a story. I guess they’re getting their ideas from liberals in the US.
Good point, Tracey!
🙂 I doubt that any US media would cover it since they are so anti-American. Ironic!
The caravan headed north to the US is full of socialists who expect government handouts. They have no respect for working people or for the rule of law. How sad. They should not even enter Mexico. The Mexican government has failed them, the UN has failed them, their country’s of origin have failed them, and the media has failed them.
Good point, thanks Tracey.
🙂
New York City has been known as having some of the most brave and moral people in American but it is better known for its depravity. Yellow journalism, like in the 1890s, should be sending the mass media a lesson.
I liked your story today. Cheers!
Made me smile. Thanks for the info on the Yellow Kid and how the news media lowered itself into the gutter like today. I wonder what pulled them out of such moral decay after Yellow Journalism.
Great blog post today. I’d never heard of the Yellow Kid but did hear of Yellow Journalism.
Yes, I didn’t realize they were linked.