Meaning & use

yellow journalism

noun·Academic

Journalism that relies on sensational headlines, exaggeration, or scandal rather than careful, factual reporting.

See it in a sentence

Critics accused the tabloid of yellow journalism after it printed the unverified rumor as fact.

Yellow journalism in the 1890s helped stir up public support for war through exaggerated stories.

A note on using this word

The term traces back to 19th-century American newspapers competing through sensational stories rather than accuracy.

Words with a similar meaning

tabloid journalismsensationalism

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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