Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
...And so ends an 'open convention', 1956 US cartoon: A pale ghost-like figure rises from the screen of a television set

...And so ends an 'open convention'

A pale ghost-like figure rises from the screen of a television set and holds a torn banner reading "Joe Smith" for Vice President, above an ashtray of cigarette butts, glasses and a cup. The cartoon argues the convention's promised openness left only a phantom candidate on the screen. No technique on the list is clearly present, so card-stacking is a weak fit.

Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon

Card stacking
Date
August 25, 1956
Period
Cold War
Made by
Washington Evening Star (cartoonist Jim Berryman)
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Cartoon
Issuer type
Media
Regime
Eisenhower Administration
Leader
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Persuade or win support
Themes
Elections and party politics, Media and information
Event
1956 US Election
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
U.S. National Archives (NARA), Records of the U.S. Senate, Jim Berryman Political Cartoons (NAID 5730852), retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Public domain (U.S. government work)
Jim Berryman, Washington Evening Star. National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the U.S. Senate, 5743228 (NAID 5743228).

Text on the object

Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked

"JOE SMITH" FOR VICE PRESIDENT
JIM BERRYMAN WASHINGTON STAR

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