Counterattack: The Newsletter of Facts on Communism

FBI periodical

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Last updated

July 23, 2026

Quick Summary

Counterattack: The Newsletter of Facts on Communism was a periodical published by three ex-FBI agents, beginning in 1947. It was part of the broader anticommunist movement in the United States, often referred to as the "red scare".1

The newsletter aimed to identify individuals in the broadcasting industry suspected of leftist affiliations. It compiled names of employees who had appeared in publications, at rallies, or on petitions deemed "leftist." This information was then distributed to television executives and sponsors, urging them to dismiss the listed individuals, who were often treated as traitors.1

Counterattack played a role in the entertainment industry's blacklisting practices. Sponsors, fearing negative publicity or boycotts, would pressure networks to remove individuals from shows if their names appeared in publications like Counterattack or the related pamphlet Red Channels. This contributed to the destruction of careers and fostered a climate of paranoia during the Cold War era.12

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blacklisting
Broadcast journalists
…were an early target of Counterattack, the newsletter that began publishing in 1947 as, in the words of writer David Everitt, an “anti-Red muckraking publication that would drag not only Communists but all their defenders out into the light.” Anti-Communists feared journalists would use their access to the airwaves to…
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…were an early target of Counterattack, the newsletter that began publishing in 1947 as, in the words of writer David Everitt, an “anti-Red muckraking publication that would drag not only Communists but all their defenders out into the light.” Anti-Communists feared journalists would use their access to the airwaves to…
Read More

Television in the United States
The red scare
…three ex-FBI agents began publishing Counterattack: The Newsletter of Facts on Communism, which gathered the names of employees in the broadcasting industry who had appeared in publications, at rallies, or on petitions of a “leftist” nature. The publishers sent Counterattack to television executives and sponsors and called for those listed…
Read More
…three ex-FBI agents began publishing Counterattack: The Newsletter of Facts on Communism, which gathered the names of employees in the broadcasting industry who had appeared in publications, at rallies, or on petitions of a “leftist” nature. The publishers sent Counterattack to television executives and sponsors and called for those listed…
Read More