Keep mum she's not so dumb! Careless talk costs lives
Loose-talk security sheet in grey tones: a woman in an evening gown reclines on a sofa while a man in a suit with a glass, a uniformed man with a cigarette and an older man lean toward her. The headline 'Keep mum she's not so dumb!' and 'Careless talk costs lives' imply that an attractive stranger may be gathering information, a fear-appeal.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1941
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- G-2, VI Army Corps
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Military
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Mixed
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Themes
- Security and surveillance, War and the military
- 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)
G-2, VI Army Corps. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1197 (NAID 514803).
Text on the object
Keep mum she's not so dumb! CARELESS TALK COSTS LIVES G-2 VI ARMY CORPS 3 [handwritten: 44-PA-1197]
