--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the reporter has killed our…" description: "\"If the reporter has killed our imagination with his truth, he threatens our life with his lies.\" — Karl Kraus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/karl-kraus-1128_imagination_if-the-reporter-has-killed-our-imaginati_3042294.png" --- # If the reporter has killed our imagination with his truth… ![“If the reporter has killed our imagination with his truth, he threatens our life with his lies.” quote by Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/karl-kraus-1128_imagination_if-the-reporter-has-killed-our-imaginati_3042294.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/karl-kraus-1128_imagination_if-the-reporter-has-killed-our-imaginati_3042294.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/karl-kraus-1128_imagination_if-the-reporter-has-killed-our-imaginati_3042294.png) > “If the reporter has killed our imagination with his truth, he threatens our life with his lies.” [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that journalists who distort truth can endanger society by replacing reality with lies. **In simple terms:** Lying journalists threaten life. Key Takeaway Demand truthful reporting. Themes media truth responsibility Mood concerned critical Type political ethical When to use this quote - newsrooms - media literacy - political debate Key Concepts journalism ethics public discourse Questions to Reflect On - How can we hold media accountable? - What are the consequences of misinformation? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-lies-460242/) [Threatens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threatens/) [Threatens Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threatens-life-262777/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Threatens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-threatens-5021662/) ## Related quotes > [“Unorthodoxy threatens more than the life of a mere individual; it strikes at Society itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/unorthodoxy-threatens-more-than-the-life-of-a-mere-individual-it/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Unorthodoxy threatens more than the life of a mere individual; it strikes at Society itself. Yes, at Society itself...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/unorthodoxy-threatens-more-than-the-life-of-a-mere-individual-it-2/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [There's a real self-serving element to hip-hop that threatens its life span.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/there-s-a-real-self-serving-element-to-hip-hop-that-threatens-its/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [In short: Readily available low-cost life insurance would be a threat to the industry, and whatever threatens the life insurance industry threatens America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-tobias/in-short-readily-available-low-cost-life-insurance-would-be-a-threat/) [Andrew Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-tobias/) > [Oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams, have all been touched by man. The poison floating out to sea, now threatens life on land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-beach-boys/oceans-rivers-lakes-and-streams-have-all-been-touched-by-man-the/) [The Beach Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-beach-boys/) > [Our LORD God is the one who goes with us to fight for us against our enemies to give us victory. So don't fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/our-lord-god-is-the-one-who-goes-with-us-to-fight-for-us-against-our/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [But here's the worst part: the trick to life lies in hiding from those we hold most dear how much they mean to is;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/but-here-s-the-worst-part-the-trick-to-life-lies-in-hiding-from-those/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [The real secret of an unsatisfied life lies too often in an unsurrendered will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hudson-taylor/the-real-secret-of-an-unsatisfied-life-lies-too-often-in-an/) [Hudson Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hudson-taylor/) > [How hurtful it can be to deny one's true self and live a life of lies just to appease others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-ahern/how-hurtful-it-can-be-to-deny-one-s-true-self-and-live-a-life-of-lies/) [June Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-ahern/) > [Every day I live I am more convinced that the waste of life lies in the love we have not given, the powers we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cholmondeley/every-day-i-live-i-am-more-convinced-that-the-waste-of-life-lies-in/) [Mary Cholmondeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cholmondeley/) > [The zest of life lies in right doing, not in the garnered harvest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/the-zest-of-life-lies-in-right-doing-not-in-the-garnered-harvest/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [~My Paper wings never learn to fly and I'm a fake cause I never tried I fell asleep in a life of lies with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/she-s-gone/my-paper-wings-never-learn-to-fly-and-i-m-a-fake-cause-i-never-tried/) [She's\_gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/she-s-gone/) > [“The only chance of life lies in giving up all hope of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-only-chance-of-life-lies-in-giving-up-all-hope-of-it/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [But how carve way i' the life that lies before, If bent on groaning ever for the past?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/but-how-carve-way-i-the-life-that-lies-before-if-bent-on-groaning/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [Since there my past life lies, why alter it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/since-there-my-past-life-lies-why-alter-it/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) ## More by Karl Kraus > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I don't like to meddle in my private affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-don-t-like-to-meddle-in-my-private-affairs/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [When a man is treated like a beast, he says, 'After all, I'm human.' When he behaves like a beast, he says 'After all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/when-a-man-is-treated-like-a-beast-he-says-after-all-i-m-human-when/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [They judge lest they be judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/they-judge-lest-they-be-judged/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I and my public understand each other very well: it does not hear what I say, and I don't say what it wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-and-my-public-understand-each-other-very-well-it-does-not-hear-what/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Satire that the censor understands is rightly censored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/satire-that-the-censor-understands-is-rightly-censored/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Hate must make a man productive. Otherwise one might as well love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/hate-must-make-a-man-productive-otherwise-one-might-as-well-love/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [One must read all writers twice--the good as well as the bad. The one kind will be recognized; the other, unmasked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/one-must-read-all-writers-twice-the-good-as-well-as-the-bad-the-one/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Children today laugh at fathers who tell them about dragons. It is necessary to make fear a required subject; otherwise children will never learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/children-today-laugh-at-fathers-who-tell-them-about-dragons-it-is/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [The little stations are very proud because the expresses have to pass them by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-little-stations-are-very-proud-because-the-expresses-have-to-pass/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [The unattractive thing about chauvinism is not so much the aversion to other nations as the love of one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-unattractive-thing-about-chauvinism-is-not-so-much-the-aversion/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I have often been asked to be fair and view a matter from all sides. I did so, hoping that something might improve if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-have-often-been-asked-to-be-fair-and-view-a-matter-from-all-sides-i/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [In the theater one must sit in such a way that one sees the audience as a dark mass. Then it cannot bother one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/in-the-theater-one-must-sit-in-such-a-way-that-one-sees-the-audience/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Many desire to kill me, and many wish to spend an hour chatting with me. The law protects me from the former.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/many-desire-to-kill-me-and-many-wish-to-spend-an-hour-chatting-with/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) [Explore all 275 Karl Kraus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) ## More Imagination quotes > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Imagination is the greatest nation in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/imagination-is-the-greatest-nation-in-the-world/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Edgy is fine - I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - but what's wrong with a good ol' belly laugh?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/edgy-is-fine-i-m-not-a-prude-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-but/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [With VR, we have this same vision, which is create this ultimate platform for sharing your imagination. Our huge community of 300,000 developers creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baszucki/with-vr-we-have-this-same-vision-which-is-create-this-ultimate/) [David Baszucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baszucki/) > [I like the idea of letting the music do its own work and the stories being more expressionful - if that's a word -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/i-like-the-idea-of-letting-the-music-do-its-own-work-and-the-stories/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) [Browse all 9,060 Imagination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the reporter has killed our imagination with his truth, he threatens our life with his lies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karl Kraus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/if-the-reporter-has-killed-our-imagination-with-his-truth-he/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Imagination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/if-the-reporter-has-killed-our-imagination-with-his-truth-he/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/karl-kraus-1128_imagination_if-the-reporter-has-killed-our-imaginati_3042294.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/karl-kraus-1128_imagination_if-the-reporter-has-killed-our-imaginati_3042294.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/karl-kraus-1128_imagination_if-the-reporter-has-killed-our-imaginati_3042294.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the reporter has killed our imagination with his truth, he threatens our life with his lies.” — Karl Kraus", "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": "Karl Kraus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If the reporter has killed our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/if-the-reporter-has-killed-our-imagination-with-his-truth-he/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/if-the-reporter-has-killed-our-imagination-with-his-truth-he/#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 } } ] } ```