Thomas Edison vs. Nikola Tesla
This example was recommended by Tariq AlSunna.
Thomas Edison was a promoter of Direct Current while Nikola Tesla advanced Alternating Current. As part of his campaign against Tesla, Edison would electrocute animals using Alternating Current to demonstrate the dangers of Tesla's invention. These events created misleading news stories because Edison's Direct Current would also have resulted in the death of the animals.
Jonny Bannoura's "Fuel for Fire: Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison" provides an overview of the feud between the two men. "The History of Nikola Tesla" [2:56] is a short video concerning this issue.
One of the most famous animal executions took place on 4 January 1903 when Edison electrocuted an elephant.
