“The doughboy’s primary source of information was most likely the scuttlebutt and hearsay that arose from within the ranks themselves as the boys went about their daily routines, speculated on the next troop movements affecting them directly and, in general, just tried to make sense of what was going on around them,” said Historian James J. Heiman,

Morse code:

In the war, the newest communication technologies were used along with the oldest. Field telephones and wireless radios were used…when they worked. Visual signaling was also used, whether that be by morse cord, lamps, reflective disk or flags.

Postcards:

Postcards as souvenirs and short message carriers came into general use in Europe in the 1870s. Privately published postcards weren’t widely used until 1898, due to strict postal regulations in the U.S.

Souvenir postcards of the Liberty Memorial made their way around Kansas City during 1919, which led to the Hall Brothers and other companies making postcards of other buildings.

How soldiers got their news and what Americans were reading:

The United States was never involved in European politics and never fought a major war outside North America, until World War I in 1918. In the early months of the year before, German policies became more controversial. Headlines reported each new development, raising apprehensions about what future course the country would take. It was then that Americans began to realize that they might not be able to avoid the conflict after all.

Along with postcards and newspapers as a way to communicate and learn news from the outside, soldiers also communicated with letters.

“Letters from home contained a good deal of family gossip, community news and newspaper clippings, especially about other men and women who were in the service,” said Heiman.

Sources:

National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Mo.

Historian James J. Heiman