Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Serve in Silence, Do Not Reveal Military Information, 1941 US poster: Type-only red, white and blue card with four red stars

Serve in Silence, Do Not Reveal Military Information

Type-only red, white and blue card with four red stars at the corners. 'Serve in Silence' is the headline, with 'Do Not Reveal Military Information' beneath. There is no picture and no threat is shown; the technique is faint here, a virtue-framed slogan that presents silence as service.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Glittering generalities
Date
1941
Period
Second World War
Made by
U.S. government (issuer not printed)
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
Mixed
Regime
Roosevelt Administration
Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Warn or inform
Themes
Security and surveillance, Home front
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)
U.S. government. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1703 (NAID 515374).

Text on the object

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

SERVE IN SILENCE
DO NOT REVEAL MILITARY INFORMATION

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