Truth (British periodical) facts for kids
Truth was a British magazine that started a long time ago, in 1877. It was created by a politician named Henry Labouchère, who was part of the Liberal Party. He started Truth after leaving another magazine.
Truth became well-known for finding and showing everyone different kinds of scams and dishonest acts. Because of this, the magazine was often involved in lawsuits, but they usually won. Henry Labouchère wrote for Truth himself, but a person named Horace Voules mostly managed it in the early days.
Later on, Truth became more aligned with the Conservative Party. In 1941, there were some questions about it in Parliament, but the magazine kept publishing after these claims were proven wrong. Truth stopped being published in 1957.
Contents
Famous Stories and Exposés
The Kaiser's Dream Story
The Christmas magazine in 1890 became very famous around the world. It printed a story called "The Kaiser's Dream." This story was about a professor who used hypnosis and described a dream of the German Emperor.
In the dream, the Kaiser fought a war with Russia. This war caused all the royal families in Europe to lose their power. Truth even included a colorful map to show what Europe would look like after this dream war. Some people thought "The Kaiser's Dream" was like a prediction for World War I, which happened many years later. At that time, the magazine sold about one million copies!
Exposing a Fake Society
In 1892, Henry Labouchère and Truth uncovered a big scam. They exposed a group called the Society of Science, Letters and Art. This group pretended to be a serious academic society.
However, it was actually a fake organization. They tricked smart but trusting people, and also regular folks interested in science and art. They made them pay money to become "fellows" and use special letters like "F.S.Sc." after their names. Truth showed everyone that this was just a way to make money dishonestly.
Fighting Scams and Lawsuits
Investigating Frauds
Henry Labouchère was known as a very strong-willed person. Under his leadership, Truth became famous for two things: its amazing investigative journalism that uncovered frauds, and its frequent legal battles.
The magazine was sued many times, but most of the time, Truth won these cases. A politician named Derek Walker-Smith wrote in 1934 that Truth had a strong reputation for bravely exposing fake companies and business scams.
Winning in Court
He also mentioned that people who ran these scams often sued Truth. They were upset by the magazine's direct and bold way of writing. But these lawsuits always failed. It seems Henry Labouchère and his editor, Mr. Voules, were very happy about their success.
Later, when Collin Brooks was the editor of Truth, he had two trays on his desk. One was for regular letters, and the other was just for letters about lawsuits! This shows how often they dealt with legal challenges.
Later Years and Closure
New Owners and Changes
After Henry Labouchère passed away, Truth had several different owners. By 1947, it became a company mostly controlled by Collin Brooks. In 1953, the magazine was put up for sale.
A publisher named Ronald Staples bought Truth. He wanted to publish a weekly magazine. He made big changes, removing the staff who had right-wing views. He also changed what he called the "extremely strong political and racial ideas" of the magazine. He hired a new team, led by Vincent Evans.
The End of Truth
The very last issue of Truth was published on December 27, 1957. The editor at the time, George Edwin Scott, found out the next day that the magazine was closing. He received a letter from the main owner, a printing and publishing group. They decided they no longer wanted to keep the magazine going after Ronald Staples died.
Some famous journalists worked for Truth in its final years. These included Bernard Levin, Anthony Howard, and Alan Brien.
See also
- Candour (magazine), a magazine started by A. K. Chesterton that followed Truth.
Images for kids
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Illustration of "The Kaiser's Dream", 1890, Christmas Edition
