Hearst didn’t just vilify people, he vilified countries by going to press with accusations that the U.S.S. Maine was torpedoed by the Spanish when it exploded, giving us the expression, “Remember the Maine.”

The ship was not hit by the Spanish, but the fervor Hearst stirred up helped lead the already war-stoked Americans into the Spanish-American War. Pulitzer followed him in printing the story about the Maine. His guilt over doing when he knew there was insufficient evidence to support the claim is supposed to be why he set up the journalism school and started the Prize.

Source: American Genius