An Ostrich Only Thinks He Covers Up
Cartoon of an ostrich dressed in work clothes, head under a sheet of paper marked 'MISTAKES', with factory chimneys behind it. The headline says it only thinks it covers up and the slogan 'Hidden Mistakes Cost Lives!' links concealed errors to deaths. The technique is a fear-appeal aimed at war workers.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1941
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Victory-Builders Division, Bressler Editorial Cartoons (artist Packer)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Corporation
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- Home front, Labor
- 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)
Victory-Builders Division, Bressler Editorial Cartoons. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-395 (NAID 513846).
Text on the object
AN OSTRICH ONLY THINKS HE "COVERS UP" [on paper:] MISTAKES HIDDEN MISTAKES COST LIVES ! [signature:] Packer [imprint:] PRINTED IN U.S.A. [imprint:] Copyright, "VICTORY-BUILDERS" Division BRESSLER EDITORIAL CARTOONS, Inc., NEW YORK
