Don't Gossip - Someone Talked, Someone Listened, Someone Acted, A Ship Was Sunk
Four stacked panels show a mouth, an ear, a submarine and a sinking ship, linked by arrows under the words 'Someone talked, someone listened, someone acted, a ship was sunk'. The chain presents a casual remark as the first step to a sinking, and the red headline 'Don't Gossip' draws the lesson (fear-appeal).
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1942
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Wartime Information Board, Ottawa
- Region
- North America
- Country
- Canada
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Mackenzie King Government
- Leader
- William Lyon Mackenzie King
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Themes
- War and the military, Security and surveillance
- Event
- World War II
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (Canadian Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired; no URAA restoration)
Wartime Information Board, Canada, c. 1942-1945. U.S. National Archives, RG 44.
Text on the object
SOMEONE TALKED.... SOMEONE LISTENED.... SOMEONE ACTED... A SHIP WAS SUNK DON'T GOSSIP CODE A G-15EL ISSUED BY WARTIME INFORMATION BOARD, OTTAWA PRINTED IN CANADA
