In following events in Ukraine, or trying to, I find myself wondering why, with all of our ability to communicate today, reporting is no more trustworthy than it was a century ago.
I suspect that when the dust settles we will find as much conscious misreporting as we did during that classic of disinformation, the Spanish Civil War of the late 1930s. By way of background, a Popular Front coalition, composed of a variety of socialist and communist parties, had won a narrow victory in Spain’s general elections in February 1936.
Although the anarchists had a powerful presence in Spain, they did not participate in the election. They did, however, participate in the unrest that followed the election, and that led to a state of near anarchy throughout the country. The Soviets joined in as well on the side of the left.
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