Have you seen this so called ? “…Actual poster from the mid-50’s issued by Senator Joseph McCarthy”

Well it is a FAKE!

Submitted for your perusal, is this portrait of a meme. An idea gone viral, standing as testament to that age old warning, “Caveat Emptor”; buyer beware. The buyer in this case is all of us, the pig in that poke, we just purchased, is the subject of this submission.

The words were said—actually written—but NOT by that master of self-delusions with visions of grandeur, Senator Joseph McCarthy! So who in the hell is responsible for this hypocritical and slanderous slur?

The Suspects:

Senator Joseph McCarthy



Queen Victoria



Richard Milhous Nixon



Alright, he’s not a suspect, but he looks guilty of something.



So who Is the Guilty Person, who said it?…was it me, was it you?

No. The Author is………

Leopold II (French: Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor, Dutch: Leopold Lodewijk Filips Maria Victor) (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was the King of the Belgians, and is chiefly remembered for the founding and exploitation of the Congo Free State.

In a letter to Queen Victoria:

The King of the Belgians to Queen Victoria.

10th October 1845

My Dearest Victoria, —

. . . All you say about our dear Albert, whom I love like my own child, is perfectly true. The attacks, however unjust, have but one advantage, that of showing the points the enemy thinks weakest and best calculated to hurt. This , being the case, Anson, without boring A. with daily accounts which in the end become very irksome, should pay attention to these very points, and contribute to avoid what may be turned to account by the enemy. To hop to escape censure and calumny is next to impossible, but whatever is considered by the enemy as a fit subject for attack is better modified or avoided. The dealings with artists, for instance, require great prudence; they are acquainted with all classes of society, and for that very reason dangerous; they are hardly ever satisfied, and when you have too much to do with them, you are sure to have des ennuis. . . .Your devoted Uncle, Leopold R. (excerpt from “The Letters of Queen Victoria, a Selection from Her Majesty’s Correspondence Between the Years 1837 and 1861”)

An now you know the facts. Spread the truth far and wide.

And the next time, someone offers you one of those memes, be careful. God only knows what kinds of germs may be crawling all over it.

~from the easel of

Julian Greigh

CORRECTION…………….

An eagle eyed reader spotted a mistake I made while I was in a hurry. (Remember, speed kills) The author of the letter was Leopold the 1st, not his son Leopold the 2nd as I listed above. Sorry about that. Big thanks to Muriel!