Someone spoke out of turn...
A one-colour blue print shows a transport sinking and burning at the horizon, a crowded lifeboat full of men, and a lone swimmer in the foreground, over the headline 'Someone spoke out of turn' and an ellipsis. The tell is fear-appeal: the loss of a troopship is left to be read as the result of careless talk.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1941
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- VI Army Corps (reproduced by Engineer Headquarters, VI Army Corps); artist Pearson
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Military
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Own forces
- 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)
VI Army Corps. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1778 (NAID 515451).
Text on the object
SOMEONE SPOKE OUT OF TURN... [signature:] Pearson G-2 VI AC 6 [the 6 is a hand-stamped number] REPRODUCED BY ENGR. HQS., VI ARMY CORPS
