How did yellow journalism affect people's viewpoints?

Yellow journalism affected people’s viewpoints significantly. This can really be seen in the events leading to the Spanish-American War in 1898. Prior to radio and television, most people got their news from what they read in the newspapers. It was very difficult to determine if the stories being reported in the newspapers were accurate or exaggerated.

By the late 1890s, the United States wanted to become a world power. Most of the land was already...

Yellow journalism affected people’s viewpoints significantly. This can really be seen in the events leading to the Spanish-American War in 1898. Prior to radio and television, most people got their news from what they read in the newspapers. It was very difficult to determine if the stories being reported in the newspapers were accurate or exaggerated.

By the late 1890s, the United States wanted to become a world power. Most of the land was already colonized, so in order to get land, we most likely were going to have to go to war. When the newspapers began to report on how the Spanish were mistreating the people living in Cuba, the American people were very concerned. The newspapers made the alleged mistreatment of the Cubans sound much worse than it really was. This helped stir up American public opinion against Spain. When the newspapers published a letter written by the Spanish ambassador to the United States that was very critical of President McKinley, this further inflamed American sentiment against Spain. When the U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana harbor, the newspapers jumped to the conclusion that the Spanish were responsible for this action. This event further increased the anti-Spanish sentiment in the United States and led to the start of the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Yellow journalism clearly affected the viewpoints of many Americans, especially in regard to going to war against Spain in 1898.