Don't talk out of school
Black-and-white security poster: a uniformed serviceman speaks ('I just heard that.......') to a man seen from behind, before a small flag-topped schoolhouse. Text warns that casual conversation may be vital information to others and that 'big ears are always waiting'. The technique is faint here: a mild fear-appeal resting on the idea of unseen listeners, with no enemy shown.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1941
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Issuer not printed
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Mixed
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Own forces
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Themes
- War and the military, Security and surveillance
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- 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 Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
Issuer not printed. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-690 (NAID 514171).
Text on the object
DON'T TALK OUT OF SCHOOL I JUST HEARD THAT....... SCHOOL TODAY MORE THAN EVER BEFORE IT IS IMPORTANT TO GUARD CAREFULLY WHAT YOU SAY EVEN TO YOUR CLOSEST FRIEND. CASUAL CONVERSATION TO YOU MAY BE VITAL INFORMATION TO OTHERS. DON'T TALK OUT OF TURN. BIG EARS ARE ALWAYS WAITING AND EAGER TO HEAR WHAT YOU SAY.
