Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Free Speech Doesn't Mean Careless Talk!, 1941 US poster: Company-sponsored security poster

Free Speech Doesn't Mean Careless Talk!

Company-sponsored security poster: a large green parrot head fills the sheet under the headline 'Free Speech doesn't mean Careless TALK!'. The parrot stands for repeating what one hears, and the slogan separates a protected right from a wartime duty. The sponsor's name appears only in the small print at the foot.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1941
Period
Second World War
Made by
House of Seagram, Seagram-Distillers Corp., New York (art: Ess-Ar-Gee)
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
Corporation
Regime
Roosevelt Administration
Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Warn or inform
Themes
Home front, 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)
House of Seagram, Seagram-Distillers Corp.. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-159 (NAID 513606).

Text on the object

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

FREE SPEECH
doesn't mean
Careless
TALK!
THIS POSTER IS PUBLISHED BY THE HOUSE OF SEAGRAM AS PART
OF ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE NATIONAL VICTORY EFFORT
[imprint:] SEAGRAM—DISTILLERS CORP., N.Y.C.
[signature:] ESS-AR-GEE

More propaganda examples that use the same techniques

Fragments of the Abydos king list from Ramesses II's temple, in the British Museum: rows of royal cartouchesNew Kingdom EgyptFragments of the Abydos king list from Ramesses II's temple, in the British Museum: rows of royal cartouches0000 · Card stacking, TransferClay cylinder with the Ehulhul inscription of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, describing work on three templesNeo Babylonian EmpireClay cylinder with the Ehulhul inscription of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, describing work on three temples0000 · TransferSeated limestone statue of Hatshepsut as king, with feminine royal titles on the throne, reassembled from fragments broken up at Deir el-BahriNew Kingdom EgyptSeated limestone statue of Hatshepsut as king, with feminine royal titles on the throne, reassembled from fragments broken up at Deir el-Bahri0000 · Transfer, TestimonialGlazed-brick panel with a striding lion, from Babylon (reign of Nebuchadnezzar II)Neo Babylonian EmpireGlazed-brick panel with a striding lion, from Babylon (reign of Nebuchadnezzar II)0000 · TransferLimestone relief block of Ramesses II wearing the White Crown, a jubilee relief from his temple at HerakleopolisNew Kingdom EgyptLimestone relief block of Ramesses II wearing the White Crown, a jubilee relief from his temple at Herakleopolis0000 · TransferLine drawing of the Great Kadesh battle relief on the walls of the Ramesseum, from Breasted's History of EgyptNew Kingdom EgyptLine drawing of the Great Kadesh battle relief on the walls of the Ramesseum, from Breasted's History of Egypt0000 · Card stacking, TransferContent noteGypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal IINeo Assyrian EmpireGypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal II0000 · Transfer, Glittering generalitiesEgyptian alabaster jar inscribed with the name of Xerxes the Great in four languages (Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, Egyptian), 486 to 466 BCEAchaemenid EmpireEgyptian alabaster jar inscribed with the name of Xerxes the Great in four languages (Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, Egyptian), 486 to 466 BCE0000 · Transfer