Fake News and Spanish Flu during World War One

 by Ben Courdavault

Self-Portrait with the Spanish Flu
(Edvard Munch, 1919)

The great influenza epidemic, more commonly known as the Spanish flu, was the most deadly flu virus in history, which in 1918-1919, infected a quarter of the global population and killed around 50 million people. Despite this, some of us may have never even heard of the Spanish flu, a disease that killed more people than WWI did. At the time of the virus, the press in most European countries downplayed the seriousness of the virus in order to boost morale among citizens, with one chief medical officer from Britain stating that it was ‘unpatriotic to be concerned with the flu rather than the war.’ But this censorship of the virus during wartime left many British citizens unsure what to do to tackle this virus, and ‘fake news’ about the virus was circulating all over the world.

The name ‘Spanish flu’ is a misnomer, in that it suggests the flu originated in Spain. In reality, it isn't known where the flu originated, but it most definitely did not originate from Spain. Some reports suggest that it most likely originated in the US, as the first recorded cases of this virus were reported in Kansas, in March 1918. The movement of troops would have also likely exacerbated the spread of the virus, explaining why Europe suffered so much due to this virus. Spain, being a neutral country during WW1 did not censor its press in the same ways as other countries, like Britain and France. When it was found out that cases of a new deadly virus were escalating, newspapers in Spain were the first to report the deaths of thousands of Spanish and alert the public of the very large numbers of symptoms so they could recognise this virus; fever, a dry cough, chills, sore throats. This wasn’t without mistakes though; cases of insanity and suicide became associated with the flu. This was gathered up by media around the world and accusations were pointed at Spain for the origin of the disease. Spain, outraged at this, accused France, saying the disease had come from their battlefields. However, the name ‘Spanish flu’ remained.

Other countries in Europe, being focused on their war effort, refused to grant newspapers the permission to spread news of this new virus. In fact, many countries undermined the severity of the virus by claiming, during the flu’s first wave, that it wasn’t a serious threat. The Times suggested the illness was probably a result of ‘the general weakness of nerve power known as war-weariness’.The idea here was to keep morale high among citizens and soldiers during wartime. It was also to keep enemy nations from knowing they were suffering an outbreak. German general Erich Ludendorff’s troops were hit by the virus so badly he had to call off his last offensive; he was desperate to hide the flu outbreak among his troops from the allies. With the growth in cases of ‘Spanish flu’, mentions of this virus became increasingly more common during the summer of 1918. The British Medical Journal even wrote about the virus, as the rapid increase in cases was difficult to ignore. Some local authorities did offer advice for tackling the virus, like wearing extra layers and giving up shaking hands. But there was no direct strategy for tackling the virus; every town had to rely on its own resources. The exact details of the virus were still vague, as the main focus was still the war effort. It was only until late October 1918 when the virus was mentioned in British parliament, 5 months after the disease had first been discovered in Britain. Newspapers issued advice on the virus, ranging from avoiding crowds to eating lots of porridge; but Britain was not prepared for such a huge outbreak, and the virus went on to kill over 228,000 Brits.

The Spanish flu was a forgotten part of our history, with WW1 taking precedence when the virus was at its height. Despite it changing the fate of the world, it was hardly ever mentioned until the Covid-19 pandemic. Some historians think that the Spanish flu actually hastened the armistice on November 11th, during the flu’s second, most deadly wave. People flocked to the streets to remember those lost in the war, but those lost to Spanish flu were almost forgotten. The flu didn’t lend itself to the themes of sacrifice and patriotism like the war did. It was much more compelling for reporters to write stories of the war and all the brave sacrifices that soldiers made than a virus which caught the world completely unprepared.