Just as Editor-in-Chief Barnabas Cuffe had hoped, Rita Skeeter didn't return that day. He promptly published the news piece, "Ministry of Magic: Violent Enforcement," and as expected, the Daily Prophet sold out once again, raking in a hefty profit.
You have to admit, the topic the editor chose was incredibly sensational. The direct and blunt accusations made people eager to see what it was all about. Ordinary witches and wizards seem to love these kinds of articles, don't they? They generally don't have much of a good impression of the Ministry, especially when confronted with a phrase as conflict-laden as "violent enforcement."
Public opinion became overwhelmingly one-sided, and the Ministry was nearly buried under a mountain of Howlers.
"They arrested my people; I'll make them pay," Barnabas Cuffe declared bitterly. He could already picture the Ministry finally relenting and releasing Rita Skeeter, boosting the Daily Prophet's reputation even further.
But his smile didn't last long.
First, Xenophilius Lovegood, the editor of The Quibbler, stepped forward to publicly question the truthfulness and validity of the Daily Prophet's content. He also harshly criticized Rita Skeeter as a reporter. However, this was to be expected; The Quibbler always makes a fuss. Moreover, while their newspaper sells well and has many buyers, most witches and wizards don't take its content seriously, viewing it more as a fictional story to pass the time, just for the amusement of it. When it comes to credibility, the Daily Prophet is still stronger. After all, The Quibbler once published an article claiming Fudge had a goblin army hidden away – any wizard with a sound mind wouldn't believe Fudge capable of that. There are many similar articles. It's not just adult wizards who dismiss The Quibbler's content; even young wizards find it utterly ridiculous.
"Don't worry about it," Barnabas Cuffe said calmly. The Quibbler's actions were normal; the feud between the two newspapers dates back a century.
"Hmph, the Daily Prophet isn't some third-rate paper for just anyone. I could use the rubbish from those rags to fertilize my garden," he said, though he did eye The Quibbler's sales figures with envy, as they reportedly reached 130% of the Daily Prophet's sales that day.
However, The Quibbler was just the beginning, the first shot fired against the Daily Prophet. Next, it was The Chronicle of the Dragon's Spear's own Professor Jerry, who, in his new book, publicly condemned the Daily Prophet and Rita Skeeter for spreading false information and distorting facts, causing him significant distress. The news caused a huge stir as soon as it broke. While The Quibbler might lack the credibility of the Daily Prophet, the mysterious author, Professor Jerry, who has consistently held the top spot on the bestseller list, wields considerable influence. Once he spoke out, his legion of devoted fans mindlessly began sending a torrent of Howlers to the Daily Prophet, giving them a taste of the Ministry's treatment.
"Mr. Barnabas, what should we do now?"
"Howlers everywhere! Everywhere! They're about to explode!" A staff member at the Daily Prophet looked at the room-filling, continuously expanding, and seemingly on the verge of detonation Howlers with despair.
"We can't get out!" The critical issue was that the exit was blocked. Who knew if they'd be caught in the explosion of Howlers if they passed by?
"What's the panic? They're just Howlers; it's not like we haven't seen them before." Barnabas Cuffe's expression was so grim it could drip ink. When had the Daily Prophet ever been treated like this?
"I'll go find someone." The Daily Prophet is a Ministry-sanctioned newspaper, so naturally, he had connections within the Ministry. As for the Daily Prophet's past criticisms of Fudge and certain Ministry officials – the Ministry doesn't speak with a single voice.
Unfortunately, before Barnabas Cuffe could rally any support, the situation took another turn. The recently popular publishing house, "Witch and Poison," released a special wizarding card featuring Rita Skeeter just before the launch of their new generation of wizarding card series. The card's abilities were listed as "False Propaganda" and "Distortion of Facts." They also released a wizarding card for the Daily Prophet itself, completely mocking the newspaper and igniting public opinion once again.
At this point, the Ministry, which should have intervened to stop the situation from escalating, inexplicably remained silent, as if completely unaware of the matter. Meanwhile, the internal divisions began among the readers who had blindly sided with the Daily Prophet. Many of them were fans of The Chronicle of the Dragon's Spear as well as readers of the Daily Prophet, but they generally shared a common hobby: wizarding cards.
After this uproar, public opinion in the wizarding world was no longer one-sided; it began to waver. After all, the Daily Prophet is a century-old established newspaper with a certain fan base and still holds some credibility. The result was that the issue escalated, drawing the attention of wizards across Europe. More and more onlookers began to join the discussion, all curious about how this matter would conclude.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Barnabas, I really can't do anything about this. Perhaps you could try your luck elsewhere?" Barnabas Cuffe emerged from a building looking dejected. This was the seventh Ministry official he had approached, and he had been shut out at every turn, receiving the same copied-and-pasted responses. When the Daily Prophet was at its peak, every official treated him with respect, and even Minister Fudge would politely receive them. A closed door? If you dared to ignore him today, he could ensure you lost your position tomorrow, he'd criticize you right out of office. What was happening now?
Barnabas Cuffe didn't know what had happened, but the uniform responses from the Ministry officials made him feel as if he were caught in a massive whirlpool. However, with the situation having developed this far, the Daily Prophet was in a difficult position. His options were essentially two: admit fault or fight to the bitter end. Admitting fault would mean the Daily Prophet was wrong and had engaged in false advertising. If they did that, the public would no longer believe the Daily Prophet's content, leading to a plummet in sales and readership. For the future of the Daily Prophet, admitting fault was out of the question. Not only could they not admit fault, but they had to grit their teeth and win this war of public opinion. The actual facts didn't matter, nor did who was in the right; what mattered was winning. Victory was justice.
And at this critical juncture, the situation changed once again.