The Ground Glass Scare of 1917-1918

After joining the First World War in 1917, the United States was convulsed by a widespread rumor that Germans had been poisoning the food supply with ground glass. The glass scare became viral fake news in the age of newsprint. There are some invaluable lessons about nativist paranoia, mass media, government overreach and neglect, and the thin line between vigilance and oppression buried in this chapter of U.S. history.