As Americans were celebrating victory in World War I in the fall of 1918, the masks on returning troops showed that the U.S. was losing another war against the so-called Spanish Flu.

This is a genuine photograph of a family wearing masks during a flu epidemic, circa 1920. However, we're not entirely convinced that this cat is also wearing a mask.

Fact check: Why is the 1918 influenza virus called 'Spanish flu'? In the black-and-white image, a sign reading "Wear a Mask or Go To Jail" is pinned to a young woman's coat. She stands next to two ...

The claim: A study co-authored by Dr. Anthony Fauci found Spanish flu victims died from pneumonia caused by mask-wearing. Since the emergence of COVID-19, masks have become a way of life.

Face masks came closest to being the measure that people most objected to, even though masks were often popular at first. The Oklahoma City Times in October 1918 described an “army of young ...

Fauci did not blame mask use for any deaths that occurred during the 1918 Spanish flu. In fact, the paper mentioned in the above-displayed Facebook posts doesn't even mention masks.

Historians and health officials have marveled at how Los Angeles weathered the 1918 Spanish flu better than most major American cities. But failing to implement a mask ordinance may have cost lives.

But masks used nowadays are much sturdier than the porous gauze material that people used during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918. A policeman adjusts a citizen's flu mask in San Francisco in 1918.

In 1918, America adopted mask wearing with a greater vengeance than anywhere else in the world. But a century later, it is Asian countries which have remembered the lessons the US learned.

A church service being held outside Grace Cathedral in San Francisco during the Spanish flu pandemic 1918. Photo from California State Library . Tension over the masks escalated, including another ...

During the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 and 1919, masks were a symbol of patriotism. Nationwide, officials urged people in 1918 to don gauze masks and face coverings or cover their mouths and nose ...