Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre of 1770 deserves that honor. Historians still debate the murder charges against eight British soldiers accused of firing fatally into a crowd, despite John Adams’s celebrated defense of them. What is undisputed is that when Revere adapted a drawing by a fellow artist as an engraving of his own, he falsely represented the troops in formation and their commanding officer giving the order to fire. These crucial distortions turned an indictment of individuals into one of the British authorities and the crown, inspiring patriotic resistance in the years to come.
Misinformation is as American as apple pie.
