Fact check: Why is the 1918 influenza virus called 'Spanish flu'?

Matthew Brown, USA TODAY,
USA TODAY•March 23, 2020

The claim: The 1918 flu pandemic became known as the “Spanish flu” because wartime censors minimized reports of the illness while the Spanish press did not.

On March 20, the Facebook page Unbelievable Facts shared a graphic on the origins of the 1918 flu pandemic’s more common name, the “Spanish flu.”

According to the post, the pandemic earned the name “because during WWI, wartime censors minimized early reports of illness and mortality” in combating nations “but the papers were free to report the epidemic’s effects in neutral Spain, which created a false impression of Spain as being especially hard hit.”

Unbelievable Facts, which brands itself as “your source for the best bizarre, strange and extraordinary stories on the internet,” has more than 8.3 million followers on Facebook. The post in question has 6,100 reactions and about 1,300 shares on the site.
The origins of 1918 influenza and its spread

When it was discovered, the 1918 flu virus was spreading in a world at war. Because of the turmoil that World War I had wrought on societies around the globe, it’s difficult for scientists and historians today to piece together the exact origins of the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states there is no universal consensus as to the origins of the virus, though experts have theorized about origins as disparate as China, France, the United States and United Kingdom. Others have argued the virus was likely circulating in European armies for months – and potentially even years – before it was officially discovered. The CDC states that the first confirmed cases in the United States were military personnel in the spring of 1918.

“We don't know and will probably never know,” John M. Barry, the author of "The Great Influenza," a history of the 1918 flu, told USA TODAY. In his book, Barry advanced the theory that the virus began in rural Kansas, but “work since then has caused me to back away from that. The best evidence points to China. Other theories suggest France or Vietnam.”

Fact check: Coronavirus originated in China, not elsewhere, researchers and studies say

The comparatively mild effect the 1918 flu had on China has led some researchers to suspect that the virus or a related milder strain began there earlier, meaning the population had a higher level of immunity to the disease when it reached pandemic levels elsewhere. This research is disputed, however, notably because data from China’s Warlord Period is arguably less reliable.

The 1918 flu was an H1N1 virus with genes indicating it likely originated in birds. This makes it like the H1N1 strain that caused the swine flu pandemic of 2009. Unlike swine flu, however, the 1918 flu was far more damaging for the world; an estimated third of the world’s population was infected, with about 50 million people dying from the virus.

Unlike most influenza viruses, the 1918 flu was most lethal for people ages 20-40 and young children. Researchers don’t fully understand why this was the case, though the lack of a vaccine, poor sanitary conditions and no coordinated response nations likely contributed to the disastrous impact. The possibility of a similar virus having spread during the youth of 1918's older population may be why those 65 and older had a lower mortality rate than would be expected.
The role of governments in publicizing the flu's spread

A key factor that made both mitigating the virus and tracing its impact difficult today is that governments at the time downplayed the issue. Countries did not want to lower national morale or cause panic while also fighting what was then the largest and most costly war in history.

Public health officials in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States all downplayed the spread of the virus, treating it as a normal influenza virus or cases of “simple pneumonia” found in the ranks of soldiers.

“The U.S. didn't formally censor,” Barry said, but the mainstream press and government institutions instead opted for a kind of “self-censorship.” This strategy ultimately proved more damaging, because when the gravity of the situation became unavoidable, governments had lost their credibility about the pandemic.

The pressures of the global conflict weren’t present in the Kingdom of Spain, which was neutral in World War I. As such, Spanish public officials and media more readily reported on the crisis as it spread throughout the country.

Additionally, King Alfonso XIII of Spain also fell gravely ill with the virus, heightening press coverage in the country and grabbing headlines elsewhere. There is no evidence, however, that the virus began in Spain, nor is there any indication that the virus was especially worse in Spain than anywhere else in Europe.
Our ruling: True

Though it is difficult to determine from the historical record where the 1918 flu virus originated and how it spread across the globe, the origins of its common name are not in doubt. The Spanish press, being those most likely to report on the virus and its spread, also gave the false impression at the time that the disease originated there.

The name “Spanish flu” has accompanied the 1918 pandemic ever since, largely because other countries were unwilling or uninterested in reporting on the outbreak within their own borders. We rate this claim TRUE, based on our research.
Our fact-check sources:


CDC History of 1918 Flu


The Great Influenza by John M. Barry


Did the 1918-19 Influenza Pandemic Originate in China?" by Christopher Langford


Chinese Warlord Era, Wikipedia


CDC History of 2009 H1N1 Flu


Pandemic versus Epidemic Influenza Mortality, The Journal of Infectious Diseases


The Flu That Wasn't Spanish, Government of the United Kingdom


Why Was It Called The 'Spanish Flu'?, History.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: How did the 1918 pandemic get the name 'Spanish flu'?