Following the catastrophic explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor in February 1898, two separate investigative courts were formed to determine the cause: one American and one Spanish. The Spanish naval board conducted a thorough underwater study, concluding that the explosion was internal, likely caused by spontaneous combustion in the coal bunkers rather than an external mine. However, when the Spanish report was hastily translated for the American press and government officials, critical naval jargon and nuanced legal terms were severely misconstrued.
Phrases emphasizing the absence of external damage were rendered in American newspapers as vague admissions or evasive cover-ups. Sensationalist yellow press outlets, led by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, weaponized these broken translations, framing the Spanish findings as a duplicitous attempt to deny responsibility despite clear proof. The public outrage stoked by these mistranslated excerpts effectively derailed diplomatic attempts to avert military conflict, driving the United States directly into the Spanish-American War under the rallying cry, Remember the Maine!