Final answer:
William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer engaged in yellow journalism to promote the Spanish-American War, using exaggerated and sensationalist stories to manipulate public opinion and boost newspaper sales.
Step-by-step explanation:
The form of journalism used by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer to publish sensational stories and promote the Spanish-American War is known as yellow journalism. This style of journalism, characterized by exaggerated news stories with eye-catching headlines, was used to manipulate public opinion and increase newspaper circulation. Yellow journalism is often likened to the modern phenomena of click-bait and fake news due to its tendency to prioritize sensationalism over factual accuracy.Encompassing the features of tabloid-like sensationalism, yellow journalism played a significant role in influencing public sentiment toward supporting the war. It can be seen as an early example of media shaping political outcomes. Hearst and Pulitzer's newspapers included scandalous headlines and shocking stories that, at the time, were aimed to sell more papers and could often not be substantiated by factual evidence.Pulitzer went on to establish the Pulitzer Prizes for journalistic excellence, which serves as an ironic postscript to his involvement in yellow journalism. Both Hearst's New York Journal and Pulitzer's New York World capitalized on the technique to rally the American public to the cause of the Cuban independence movement and the ensuing conflict with Spain.