Claim

Claim 966

The Indianapolis News had published stories questioning the finances of the Panama Canal purchase, and Roosevelt considered the stories libelous and sought to prosecute the paper.

Published 2026-09-26. Last reviewed 2026-09-26. 1 source.

Statement: The Indianapolis News had published stories questioning the finances of the Panama Canal purchase, and Roosevelt considered the stories libelous and sought to prosecute the paper.
Field: journalist_affected
Value: Case brought against the Indianapolis News over Panama Canal stories
About: incident 1909-us-panama-canal-libel-prosecutions
Source: United States v. Smith (Ind.) (1909)
Publisher: The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University
Method: outlet report
Checked: 2026-09-26
Confidence: medium
Status: current
Source date: 2009-01-01

Quotation from the source

The News had published stories questioning the financial aspects of acquisition of the Panama Canal. President Theodore Roosevelt considered these stories libelous and sought a libel prosecution in Washington, D.C.