Winston Churchill waged war on paper over 'fake news' photo caption

Depicted as a warmonger, the future PM had a very modern dislike of media criticism, reveals new book

It is one of the earliest examples of a politician accusing the media of fake news. And it illustrates that, despite having been a journalist himself, Winston Churchill had an ambivalent relationship with the press, praising it on occasions, attacking it on others.

Churchill had been incensed by a picture published on the back page of the Daily Herald on 4 June 1929, that showed him outside 11 Downing Street carrying a book with the title War clearly visible. The caption suggested that war was one of his favourite subjects".