Méfiez-Vous. Révéler toute information de guerre c'est servir l'ennemi. Silence [Beware. To reveal any war information is to serve the enemy. Silence]

A shadowed enemy face with a cupped, enlarged ear looms over a soldier, an airman and a sailor drinking together. The headline 'Méfiez-vous' and the line that revealing war information serves the enemy stage an unseen listener as an immediate danger; the French text is the Canadian counterpart of English careless-talk posters.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Fear appeal

Date: 1940
Period: Second World War
Made by: Service de l'Information, authorised by the Minister of National Services (Ministre des Services nationaux), Canada
Region: North America
Country: Canada
Medium: Poster
Issuer type: State
Regime: Mackenzie King Government
Leader: William Lyon Mackenzie King
Audience: Mixed
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)
Service de l'Information, Department of National War Services, Canada, c. 1940-1945. U.S. National Archives, RG 44.

Text on the object

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

Méfiez-Vous

RÉVÉLER TOUTE INFORMATION DE
GUERRE C'EST SERVIR L'ENNEMI

SILENCE

AFFICHE DU SERVICE DE L'INFORMATION, AUTORISÉE PAR LE MINISTRE DES SERVICES NATIONAUX.
IMPRIMÉ AU CANADA

English translation (machine translation by Claude, not verified by a fluent reader)

Beware

TO REVEAL ANY WAR INFORMATION IS TO SERVE THE ENEMY

SILENCE

POSTER OF THE INFORMATION SERVICE, AUTHORISED BY THE MINISTER OF NATIONAL SERVICES.
PRINTED IN CANADA