---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A newspaper is a device for making the…"
description: "\"A newspaper is a device for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier.\" — H. L. Mencken"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/h-l-mencken-245_crazy_a-newspaper-is-a-device-for-making-the-i_1528439.png"
---

#  A newspaper is a device for making the ignorant more…

![“A newspaper is a device for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier.” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/h-l-mencken-245_crazy_a-newspaper-is-a-device-for-making-the-i_1528439.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/h-l-mencken-245_crazy_a-newspaper-is-a-device-for-making-the-i_1528439.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/h-l-mencken-245_crazy_a-newspaper-is-a-device-for-making-the-i_1528439.png)

> “A newspaper is a device for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier.”

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Media can amplify ignorance and extremism, worsening public understanding.

**In simple terms:** Media can make people more ignorant and crazy.

Key Takeaway

Critically evaluate sources and seek balanced information.

Themes

media influence public discourse critical thinking

Mood

skeptical concerned

Type

analytical critical

When to use this quote

- Reading news
- discussing with friends
- checking facts
- educational workshops

Key Concepts

Ignorance extremism information bias

Questions to Reflect On

- What sources do you trust and why?
- How can you counteract misinformation?

A Different Perspective

Not all media is detrimental; some educates.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Crazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crazy/) [Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant/) [Ignorant Crazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant-crazy-5665539/) [Ignorant Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant-ignorant-404295/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Making Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-ignorant-938091/) [Newspaper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspaper/) [Newspaper Device](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspaper-device-919114/) [Newspapers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspapers/)

## Related quotes

> [Newspaper : A device unable to distinguish between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/newspaper-a-device-unable-to-distinguish-between-a-bicycle-accident/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [“...the difference between stupid and ignorant was that ignorant could learn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-difference-between-stupid-and-ignorant-was-that-ignorant-could/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Ignorance is of a peculiar nature: once dispelled, it is impossible to reestablish it. It is not originally a thing of itself, but is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/ignorance-is-of-a-peculiar-nature-once-dispelled-it-is-impossible-to/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [“A man must be ignorant of himself before he can be ignorant of the existence of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-symington/a-man-must-be-ignorant-of-himself-before-he-can-be-ignorant-of-the/)

[William Symington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-symington/)

> [Travel brings wisdom only to the wise. It renders the ignorant more ignorant than ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/travel-brings-wisdom-only-to-the-wise-it-renders-the-ignorant-more/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [Every time I hear someone making ignorant comments about the supposed 'evils' of homosexuality, I think about the true evil of the high suicide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-estrich/every-time-i-hear-someone-making-ignorant-comments-about-the-supposed/)

[Susan Estrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-estrich/)

> [“Perhaps we should abandon the whole idea of trying to make students intelligent and focus on the idea of making them less ignorant. Doctors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/perhaps-we-should-abandon-the-whole-idea-of-trying-to-make-students/)

[Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/)

> [The multitude of books is making us ignorant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/the-multitude-of-books-is-making-us-ignorant/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [“The learned man understands the ignorant for he was once ignorant himself. The ignorant man does not understand the learned for he has never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-ibn-abi-talib/the-learned-man-understands-the-ignorant-for-he-was-once-ignorant/)

[Ali ibn Abi Talib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-ibn-abi-talib/)

> [When you're first starting on a project, you feel shy because you don't know very much, and you know that you're going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-wright/when-you-re-first-starting-on-a-project-you-feel-shy-because-you-don/)

[Lawrence Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-wright/)

> [“Travel brings wisdom only to the wise. It renders the ignorant more ignorant than ever. Master”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/travel-brings-wisdom-only-to-the-wise-it-renders-the-ignorant-more-2/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [The best way to go into an unknown territory is to go in ignorant, ignorant as possible, with your mind wide open, as wide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/the-best-way-to-go-into-an-unknown-territory-is-to-go-in-ignorant/)

[Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/)

> [Ignorance is of a peculiar nature; once dispelled, it is impossible to reestablish it. It is not originally a thing of itself, but is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/ignorance-is-of-a-peculiar-nature-once-dispelled-it-is-impossible-to-2/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [Those parents who do not educate their sons are their enemies; for as is a crane among swans, so are ignorant so are ignorant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/those-parents-who-do-not-educate-their-sons-are-their-enemies-for-as/)

[Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/)

> [It is said that the Negro is ignorant. But why is he ignorant? It comes with ill grace from a man who has put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/it-is-said-that-the-negro-is-ignorant-but-why-is-he-ignorant-it-comes/)

[Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/)

## More by H. L. Mencken

> [Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/alimony-the-ransom-that-the-happy-pay-to-the-devil/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [A bad artist almost always tries to conceal his incompetence by whooping up a new formula.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-bad-artist-almost-always-tries-to-conceal-his-incompetence-by/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [So few men are really worth knowing, that it seems a shameful waste to let an anthropoid prejudice stand in the way of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/so-few-men-are-really-worth-knowing-that-it-seems-a-shameful-waste-to/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [Man's objection to love is that it dies hard; woman's, that when it is dead, it stays dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/man-s-objection-to-love-is-that-it-dies-hard-woman-s-that-when-it-is/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [The lunatic fringe wags the underdog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-lunatic-fringe-wags-the-underdog/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [Women have simple tastes. They get pleasure out of the conversation of children in arms and men in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/women-have-simple-tastes-they-get-pleasure-out-of-the-conversation-of/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [The critic, to interpret his artist, even to understand his artist, must be able to get into the mind of his artist; he must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-critic-to-interpret-his-artist-even-to-understand-his-artist-must/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [There is, in fact, nothing about religious opinions that entitles them to any more respect than other opinions get. On the contrary, they tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-is-in-fact-nothing-about-religious-opinions-that-entitles-them/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [Don't overestimate the decency of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/don-t-overestimate-the-decency-of-the-human-race/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [Liberty ... was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/liberty-was-a-two-headed-boon-there-was-first-the-liberty-of-the/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [To the extent that I am genuinely educated, I am suspicious of all the things that the average citizen believes and the average pedagogue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/to-the-extent-that-i-am-genuinely-educated-i-am-suspicious-of-all-the/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [Philosophy first constructs a scheme of happiness and then tries to fit the world to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/philosophy-first-constructs-a-scheme-of-happiness-and-then-tries-to/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [For it is the natural tendency of the ignorant to believe what is not true. In order to overcome that tendency it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-the-natural-tendency-of-the-ignorant-to-believe-what-is-not/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

[Explore all 827 H. L. Mencken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

## More Crazy quotes

> [Im wild Im crazy, I'm wild, Im crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dot-dot-curve/im-wild-im-crazy-i-m-wild-im-crazy/)

[Dot Dot Curve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dot-dot-curve/)

> [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/)

[Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/)

> [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/)

[Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/)

> [Grit, determination, the right amount of crazy, self belief - everything it takes to be a champion. I have that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-poirier/grit-determination-the-right-amount-of-crazy-self-belief-everything/)

[Dustin Poirier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-poirier/)

> [Bein Crazy is the least of my worries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/bein-crazy-is-the-least-of-my-worries/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [I didn't understand Southland Tales script at all! Is there a single word to describe it? Cacophony? It's celebrity meets pornography meets politics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-grant/i-didn-t-understand-southland-tales-script-at-all-is-there-a-single/)

[Beth Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-grant/)

> [What I do miss that I don't get anymore? You're going to think I'm crazy, but you want the truth, so here it is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mandrell/what-i-do-miss-that-i-don-t-get-anymore-you-re-going-to-think-i-m/)

[Barbara Mandrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-mandrell/)

> [The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [You’re crazy,” said her best friend, Angela, as the bell rang to signal five minutes before the first class on the first day back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/you-re-crazy-said-her-best-friend-angela-as-the-bell-rang-to-signal/)

[Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/)

> [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/)

[Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/)

> [Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-aunt-and-uncle-will-be-proud-though-won-t-they-said-hermione-as/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I sang the National Anthem at Dodger Stadium - at a baseball game - which was crazy; there was, like, 60,000 people there, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-devine/i-sang-the-national-anthem-at-dodger-stadium-at-a-baseball-game-which/)

[Adam DeVine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-devine/)

> [In the middle of a play, I go crazy and don't realize what I'm doing. I'll snap back to reality and I realize, 'Hey,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-bosworth/in-the-middle-of-a-play-i-go-crazy-and-don-t-realize-what-i-m-doing-i/)

[Brian Bosworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-bosworth/)

> [ That's probably why my face was looking so crazy when I was crying \[in "Hardball"\] because it was some real. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-b-jordan/that-s-probably-why-my-face-was-looking-so-crazy-when-i-was-crying-in/)

[Michael B. Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-b-jordan/)

> [I'm always writing. I'm an obsessive. It's not because I'm a disciplined person. It's because I'm crazy about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-m-always-writing-i-m-an-obsessive-it-s-not-because-i-m-a/)

[Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/)

[Browse all 9,039 Crazy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crazy/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "A newspaper is a device for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "H. L. Mencken"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-newspaper-is-a-device-for-making-the-ignorant-more-ignorant-and-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Crazy"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-newspaper-is-a-device-for-making-the-ignorant-more-ignorant-and-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/h-l-mencken-245_crazy_a-newspaper-is-a-device-for-making-the-i_1528439.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/h-l-mencken-245_crazy_a-newspaper-is-a-device-for-making-the-i_1528439.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/h-l-mencken-245_crazy_a-newspaper-is-a-device-for-making-the-i_1528439.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A newspaper is a device for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier.” — H. L. Mencken",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "H. L. Mencken",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "A newspaper is a device for...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-newspaper-is-a-device-for-making-the-ignorant-more-ignorant-and-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-newspaper-is-a-device-for-making-the-ignorant-more-ignorant-and-the/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
