Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation

Content note: British colonial-office publicity image of East African people and vessels, reproduced as published. This object is shown as it was published. Why

Lake Transport in Africa, 1939 UK poster: A painted view of Lake Victoria shows a crowded steamer of the Kenya and Uganda

Lake Transport in Africa

A painted view of Lake Victoria shows a crowded steamer of the Kenya and Uganda Railways, canoes and dhows alongside, and a British Overseas Airways flying boat overhead. The tell for card-stacking is selection: the caption and picture present only busy, cheerful transport and give no account of colonial administration or labour.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Card stacking
Date
1939
Period
Second World War
Made by
British Information Services (agency of the British Government, New York); artist Nunney; printed by E. S. & A. Robinson Ltd, Bristol
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Foreign public
Purpose
Persuade or win support
Themes
Empire and colonialism, Home front
Event
World War II
Regime
Churchill wartime government
Leader
Winston Churchill
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 Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Public domain (UK Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired before 1996; no URAA restoration)
British Information Services (agency of the British Government, New York), c. 1939-1945 (NARA, RG 44 World War II Foreign Posters, NAID 44266736).

Text on the object

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

Distributed by BRITISH INFORMATION SERVICES,
an Agency of the British Government,
30, Rockefeller Plaza,
New York City.

LAKE TRANSPORT IN AFRICA
Lake Victoria, largest of the East African lakes, has become one of the most important centres of transportation on the African continent. To meet the incoming Kenya and Uganda Railways' steamer, canoes, dhows and motor-boats put out, as a British Overseas Airways' flying boat roars overhead.

PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY E S & A ROBINSON LTD BRISTOL 51-9033

More propaganda examples that use the same techniques

Fragments of the Abydos king list from Ramesses II's temple, in the British Museum: rows of royal cartouchesNew Kingdom EgyptFragments of the Abydos king list from Ramesses II's temple, in the British Museum: rows of royal cartouches0000 · Card stacking, TransferBehistun (Bisotun) rock relief and trilingual inscription of Darius I: the king, two attendants and the bound rebel leaders beneath the winged figure of AhuramazdaAchaemenid EmpireBehistun (Bisotun) rock relief and trilingual inscription of Darius I: the king, two attendants and the bound rebel leaders beneath the winged figure of Ahuramazda0000 · Card stacking, Name-calling, TestimonialContent noteTomb of Darius I at Naqsh-e Rustam: the king in relief beside his inscription DNa, c. 490 BCEAchaemenid EmpireTomb of Darius I at Naqsh-e Rustam: the king in relief beside his inscription DNa, c. 490 BCE0000 · Testimonial, Card stackingLine drawing of the Great Kadesh battle relief on the walls of the Ramesseum, from Breasted's History of EgyptNew Kingdom EgyptLine drawing of the Great Kadesh battle relief on the walls of the Ramesseum, from Breasted's History of Egypt0000 · Card stacking, TransferContent notePersepolis, Apadana staircase relief: a figure with an animal from a procession of delegations, early fifth century BCEAchaemenid EmpirePersepolis, Apadana staircase relief: a figure with an animal from a procession of delegations, early fifth century BCE0000 · Card stacking, Manufactured consensusAlabaster relief, Assyrian troops storming a citadel, from Nineveh (reign of Sennacherib)Neo Assyrian EmpireAlabaster relief, Assyrian troops storming a citadel, from Nineveh (reign of Sennacherib)0000 · Card stackingContent noteColour lithograph of the Latin text of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti on the wall of the temple of Roma and Augustus at Ancyra, with the heading in large letters (Perrot, Guillaume and Delbet, 1872)Roman EmpireColour lithograph of the Latin text of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti on the wall of the temple of Roma and Augustus at Ancyra, with the heading in large letters (Perrot, Guillaume and Delbet, 1872)0014 · Card stacking, Glittering generalitiesSilver denarius of Vespasian, reverse IVDAEA with a trophy of arms and a seated mourning womanRoman EmpireSilver denarius of Vespasian, reverse IVDAEA with a trophy of arms and a seated mourning woman0070 · Card stackingContent note