Stop Criminal! (Ilocano-language poster distributed in the Philippines)
A cartoon of a club-wielding soldier in a fur hat with a red star, labelled 'Communist aggressors', standing over a bloodied figure labelled 'Republic of Korea', while a giant hand marked 'U.N.' reaches in and a ring of small figures carries national flags. The text says 53 nations condemn the Communist invasion of the Republic of Korea and that peace comes through the United Nations. The tell is name-calling (the label 'communist aggressors' on a brutish figure) with bandwagon (the claim that 53 nations stand together) and fear-appeal in the blood and club imagery.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1950
- Period
- Cold War
- Made by
- U.S. Information Agency (predecessor: State Department International Information and Educational Exchange Program), Propaganda Posters Distributed in Asia series
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Truman Administration
- Leader
- Harry S. Truman
- Audience
- Foreign public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Theme
- War and the military
- Event
- Korean War
- Source
- Unidentified Source blurred: contractors, cutouts, buried disclosure
- Source
- U.S. National Archives (NARA), Record Group 306, Propaganda Posters Distributed in Asia, retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work; NARA RG 306)
U.S. Information Agency / Department of State, c. 1950-55. National Archives, Record Group 306 (NAID 5730084, 306-PPA-185).
Text on the object
PAGSARDENGEN! KRIMINAL! [on the hand:] N.U. [on the soldier:] AGRESOR A COMUNISTA [on the fallen figure:] REPUBLIKA TI KOREA 53 a nagcaycaysa a nacion ti mangidarum iti criminal a panangsacup dagiti Comunista iti Republika ti Korea! Dagiti Comunista a managaramid iti gubat mapagsardeng ida! Babaen ti Naciones Unidas -- Cappia! [handwritten, lower left:] Korea Poster- Ilocano
Stop! Criminal! [on the hand:] U.N. [on the soldier:] Communist aggressor [on the fallen figure:] Republic of Korea 53 united nations condemn the criminal seizure/invasion of the Republic of Korea by the Communists! The Communists who make war will be stopped! Through the United Nations -- Peace! [handwritten:] Korea Poster- Ilocano
Ilocano is read by a non-native reader; 'nagcaycaysa a nacion' is rendered 'united nations'; 'panangsacup' is rendered 'invasion'.
