Before we began, a quick note.

This episode contains World War II error recordings of offensive language.

In his first Fireside chat after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Franklin Roosevelt

didn't try to put a positive spin on things.

The President vowed that he would always tell the truth about the war, regardless of

how troubling the reports turned out to be.

But he said that his fellow citizens would need to stick to the facts too.

Most earnestly I urge my countrymen to reject all rumors.

These ugly little hints of complete disaster fly thick and fast in wartime.

FDR was worried that gossiping Americans might give up real valuable information to

access spies.

That loose slips might sink ships.

But the government also wanted to clamp down on phony rumors, made up stories that could

damage morale on the home front.

And in 1942, that kind of misinformation was everywhere.

There were conspiracy theories about the Japanese putting glass in people's food, about a

war worker punching holes in gas masks, and about barns getting painted to make them

easier targets for access bombers.

Rumor mongering could destroy unity in thinking that maybe someone is not playing their

fair share doing their part, somehow aiding the enemy.

Crazy Campbell is the author of The Year of Parallel, America in 1942.

Information is critical at all times, but particularly when you're facing a common enemy.

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