Abstract
In May 1974, Cambodian troops captured the U.S. container ship SS Mayaguez and her crew off the Cambodian coast, igniting a clash between the new Khmer Rouge regime and a U.S. president dealing with aftermath of Watergate. The Mayaguez incident was initially reported as a successful rescue mission, with the administration of President Gerald R. Ford keeping silent about the forty-one U.S. military personnel who died. For five days, the Pentagon insisted that one American had been killed. This incident highlights key communication steps in the life cycle of a politically constructed falsehood meant to mislead and limit information reaching the public sphere.
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