--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the first casualty of war was the truth…" description: "\"“the first casualty of war was the truth, and oftentimes, the second casualty was the truth teller.”\" — Bobby Akart" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/252/bobby-akart-12240_truth_the-first-casualty-of-war-was-the-truth_1283993.jpg" --- # the first casualty of war was the truth, and oftentimes… ![“the first casualty of war was the truth, and oftentimes, the second casualty was the truth teller.” quote by Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/252/bobby-akart-12240_truth_the-first-casualty-of-war-was-the-truth_1283993.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/252/bobby-akart-12240_truth_the-first-casualty-of-war-was-the-truth_1283993.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/252/bobby-akart-12240_truth_the-first-casualty-of-war-was-the-truth_1283993.jpg) > ““the first casualty of war was the truth, and oftentimes, the second casualty was the truth teller.”” [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War first destroys truth, then silences those who speak it. **In simple terms:** War kills truth and truth‑tellers. Key Takeaway Protect free speech in conflict. Themes war truth silence Mood somber determined Type political reflective When to use this quote - journalism - activism - policy making - education Key Concepts propaganda ethical journalism censorship Questions to Reflect On - How can truth be preserved? - Who safeguards truth‑tellers? A Different Perspective Truth may survive underground. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Casualty Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/casualty-truth-2765699/) [Second Casualty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-casualty-4159633/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Oftentimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-oftentimes-4159634/) [Truth Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-teller-1466987/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-truth-488212/) ## Related quotes > [It is well known that in war, the first casualty is truth - that during any war truth is forsaken for propaganda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/it-is-well-known-that-in-war-the-first-casualty-is-truth-that-during/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [“Regardless of sex, everyone loses something in a war... but the first casualty is always the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-k-vaughan/regardless-of-sex-everyone-loses-something-in-a-war-but-the-first/) [Brian K. Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-k-vaughan/) > [“In war, the first casualty is truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-hayes/in-war-the-first-casualty-is-truth/) [Terry Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-hayes/) > [In time of war the first casualty is truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boake-carter/in-time-of-war-the-first-casualty-is-truth/) [Boake Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boake-carter/) > [In war the first casualty is the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/in-war-the-first-casualty-is-the-truth/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Being a pastor means you're a truth teller. That means you're truth teller when it comes to the Bible. That means you protect your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/being-a-pastor-means-you-re-a-truth-teller-that-means-you-re-truth/) [John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) > [I feel like I'm a professional storyteller, really. A lot of people say 'a truth teller,' and, if the writing supports it, that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-howle/i-feel-like-i-m-a-professional-storyteller-really-a-lot-of-people-say/) [Billy Howle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-howle/) > [But while I'd be their daughter, while I'd eat the roast and come home from dates and wash the dishes, I would also be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blundell/but-while-i-d-be-their-daughter-while-i-d-eat-the-roast-and-come-home/) [Judy Blundell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blundell/) > [If you play Mark Twain and he's not funny, you are definitely not playing Mark Twain. That was the biggest challenge, in some ways.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-kilmer/if-you-play-mark-twain-and-he-s-not-funny-you-are-definitely-not/) [Val Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-kilmer/) > [I'm not a liar; I'm a truth teller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-covington/i-m-not-a-liar-i-m-a-truth-teller/) [Colby Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-covington/) > [For the habitual truth-teller and truth-seeker, indeed, the whole world has very little liking. He is always unpopular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-the-habitual-truth-teller-and-truth-seeker-indeed-the-whole-world/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“I braced my hands on my hips, examining the drop, the trees, the lake beyond. "What did I do wrong?" Azriel, who had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/i-braced-my-hands-on-my-hips-examining-the-drop-the-trees-the-lake/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [I feel like I'm a truth teller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-buteau/i-feel-like-i-m-a-truth-teller/) [Michelle Buteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-buteau/) > [“Above all else, I think that you are a compulsive liar." My laughter was tense, but sincere. "Hardly. In fact, I consider myself a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-a-nielsen/above-all-else-i-think-that-you-are-a-compulsive-liar-my-laughter-was/) [Jennifer A. Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-a-nielsen/) > [“This is Truth-Teller...It has never failed me once...Some people say it has magic and will always strike true. He gentle took her hand and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/this-is-truth-teller-it-has-never-failed-me-once-some-people-say-it/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) ## More by Bobby Akart > [“Terrorists have no need for the nuances of politics. Of”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/terrorists-have-no-need-for-the-nuances-of-politics-of/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [“Bioterrorism was every bit as dangerous as a nuclear attack or”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/bioterrorism-was-every-bit-as-dangerous-as-a-nuclear-attack-or/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [“They may enjoy the trip up here, but y’all, that doesn’t mean I’m gonna answer the door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/they-may-enjoy-the-trip-up-here-but-y-all-that-doesn-t-mean-i-m-gonna/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [“wise men speak and fools decide,” said”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/wise-men-speak-and-fools-decide-said/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [“While ordinary criminals use their money to buy things they cannot afford, terrorists use money to finance more terror. It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/while-ordinary-criminals-use-their-money-to-buy-things-they-cannot/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [“In the history of mankind, more human beings were killed in the name of religion than for any reason,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/in-the-history-of-mankind-more-human-beings-were-killed-in-the-name/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [“from over seven billion to what has been estimated to be less than seventy million.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/from-over-seven-billion-to-what-has-been-estimated-to-be-less-than/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [“It’s all about money and votes. But in the end, it’s really money that drives their decision making. In”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/it-s-all-about-money-and-votes-but-in-the-end-it-s-really-money-that/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [“always trust your gut. Your brain can be fooled and your heart is an idiot, but your gut doesn’t know how to lie.” Mac”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/always-trust-your-gut-your-brain-can-be-fooled-and-your-heart-is-an/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [“not make sense considering this was an alleged bomb-making facility.” “What was it?” pressed Mac. “A microscope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/not-make-sense-considering-this-was-an-alleged-bomb-making-facility/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [“a twinge of seller’s remorse. Why is my gut screaming WARNING at me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/a-twinge-of-seller-s-remorse-why-is-my-gut-screaming-warning-at-me/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [“Using his Apple Mirror capability on the MacBook,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/using-his-apple-mirror-capability-on-the-macbook/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [“gutless cowards who’d send anyone besides themselves to their death”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/gutless-cowards-who-d-send-anyone-besides-themselves-to-their-death/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [“Within ten days, thirty million people would die from the plague. Three weeks from now, two hundred million human beings would die per day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/within-ten-days-thirty-million-people-would-die-from-the-plague-three/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [“You are free to make your choices, but you are not free to choose the consequences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/you-are-free-to-make-your-choices-but-you-are-not-free-to-choose-the/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) [Explore all 55 Bobby Akart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) ## More Truth quotes > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [High school sucked. It was a universal truth, and whoever said these were supposed to be the best years of your life was probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/high-school-sucked-it-was-a-universal-truth-and-whoever-said-these/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“The truth is heavier than a sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naiyem-chowdhury-rony/the-truth-is-heavier-than-a-sword/) [Naiyem Chowdhury Rony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naiyem-chowdhury-rony/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I could program a 'fabulous, I love it' kind of hit season right now. I'm more interested in breaking boundaries, telling a story, defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-could-program-a-fabulous-i-love-it-kind-of-hit-season-right-now-i-m/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just speak the truth. I keep it real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-vera/i-just-speak-the-truth-i-keep-it-real/) [Marlon Vera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-vera/) > [I always believed that photography was subjective, interpretive and certainly did not represent the truth, but I did think that its status as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-ritchin/i-always-believed-that-photography-was-subjective-interpretive-and/) [Fred Ritchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-ritchin/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The greatest act of courage is to be and to ownall of who you are—without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/the-greatest-act-of-courage-is-to-be-and-to-ownall-of-who-you-are/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) [Michael Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arnold/) > [Logic is essentially a tool for getting at truth; it is the tool, for without it no reasoning is possible in any field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oderberg/logic-is-essentially-a-tool-for-getting-at-truth-it-is-the-tool-for/) [David Oderberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oderberg/) [Browse all 45,081 Truth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the first casualty of war was the truth, and oftentimes, the second casualty was the truth teller.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bobby Akart" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/the-first-casualty-of-war-was-the-truth-and-oftentimes-the-second/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Truth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/the-first-casualty-of-war-was-the-truth-and-oftentimes-the-second/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/252/bobby-akart-12240_truth_the-first-casualty-of-war-was-the-truth_1283993.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/252/bobby-akart-12240_truth_the-first-casualty-of-war-was-the-truth_1283993.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/252/bobby-akart-12240_truth_the-first-casualty-of-war-was-the-truth_1283993.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“the first casualty of war was the truth, and oftentimes, the second casualty was the truth teller.” — Bobby Akart", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bobby Akart", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“the first casualty of war was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/the-first-casualty-of-war-was-the-truth-and-oftentimes-the-second/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/the-first-casualty-of-war-was-the-truth-and-oftentimes-the-second/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```