History Main / NewspaperThinDisguise

** ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService''. Bond finds his Walther PPK missing from the drawer in his hotel room. After he checks out, one of Drago's men intercepts him in the lobby.

** ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService''. Bond finds his Walter PPK missing from the drawer in his hotel room. After he checks out, one of Drago's men intercepts him in the lobby.

-->"Mr. Bond? You're lost something. ''(indicates man reading a newspaper, who lowers it to reveal the PPK)'' [[BlatantLies We'll give it to you outside.]]"

* In ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'', Bond hides behind a newspaper while sitting in his car observing Pushkin leave the trade conference.

* ''Film/DeathWish'' has a variation when Paul Kersey lures a couple of hoodlums into mugging him by pretending to be engrosed in his newspaper when all the other occupants of the subway car have wisely got off. When one of them slashes his paper with a SinisterSwitchblade, Kersey uses what's left to conceal drawing his gun from his pocket.

* ''Series/AgentCarter''. Jarvis sits down next to two men reading newspapers at a shoeshine stand. One turns out to be Howard Stark, the other is Creator/StanLee doing his requisite CreatorCameo.

* The Doctor and Jamie do this in Episode 2 of the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "The Faceless Ones". It's especially egregious in Jamie's case, since the newspaper does nothing to hide his lower half, and the authorities are ''specifically looking for a young man in a kilt.''

-->The guy on the sofa was watching them, she suddenly realised. Just wide grey eyes, appearing in the slit between the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' and the [[NiceHat black [fedora]]]. The second time he does it, this time actually trying to camouflage himself, he realizes that the newspaper is in Chinese, and, unluckily for him, while he does speak Chinese, he can't read it.

* ''Series/OneHundredThingstoDoBeforeHighSchool'': Crispo spends the second half of "Pilot" attempting to disguise his identity by holding a book in front of his face.

* In ''Film/SevenMurdersForScotland'', Pedro hides behind a newspaper while lurking outside the police station, and while observing Inspector Campbell at the railway station.

* Agent XYZ uses the eyeholes-in-newspaper version in ''VideoGame/TonicTrouble''. In fact, only his hands and feet stick from out behind the paper; [[TheFaceless we never get to see what he actually looks like]].

* Agent XYZ uses the eyeholes-in-newspaper version in ''VideoGame/TonicTrouble''. In fact, only his hands and feet stick out behind the paper; [[TheFaceless we never get to see what he actually looks like]].

[[quoteright:198:[[VideoGame/FallenLondon https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/60cfbbb2_75bf_4181_c19d_2b86368985bc.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:198:"News just in: I'm watching your every move."]]

* Used for a VisualGag in ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTintin''. Early in the movie, the Thom(p)sons are peering out of holes they cut into a newspaper during a stakeout in the marketplace. Each one has cut his holes in an ad on the paper that feature an item that not only lines up with where their mustaches would be, but matches the shape of said individual mustache (a broom for Thompson and a toilet plunger for Thomson).

** In "Hush" [[CovertPervert Willow]] hides behind an open writing pad to spy on Buffy flirting with Riley.
** In "Go Fish", Buffy attempts this but gives herself away by the fact that she's [[RushedInvertedReading holding her magazine upside down]].

* The cover of No Use for a Name's album ''Incognito'' (TheOneWith their version of "[[Music/ThePolice Truth Hits Everybody]]") is a newspaper sheet with a pair of eyes peeking through holes on it.

* In ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', after the grav-catcher in Credomar is sabotaged, Tagon orders Ebbirnoth to sweep the perimeter for whoever set off the charges. Ebbirnoth says he'll be scanning for cameras, a possibility that Tagon says hadn't occurred to him.
-->'''Ebbirnoth:''' Or can I look around for guys with trenchcoats and sunglasses trying to hide behind flatreaders.

* In [[Franchise/RatchetAndClank]] this is done by Clank while trailing the Kingpin in ''VideoGame/SecretAgentClank''.

* Lucky does this in ''WesternAnimation/TheNutJob'' when he and Fingers are casing the bank. He even has a little hole cut out in the newspaper for him to take pictures through.

* Done in the mystery novel ''The Secret of the Monster Book'', by a bad guy the good guys know is following them. One character lampshades it by saying, "There should be a law against bad people buying newspapers."

* In ''Series/PushingDaisies'', [[spoiler:Chuck's recently resurrected father]] isn't supposed to leave Ned's apartment, but does so anyway. He hides in plain sight in Ned's restaurant behind a newspaper, only revealing himself to Ned after Chuck had left.
* In ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', Sylar does this during the first season while Hiro and his friends are in the diner.
* Parodied in the "Monkey-ed Movies" Film/JamesBond spoof on TBS' ''Series/{{Dinner And A Movie}}'', when Q shows 009 a newspaper. This prompts 009 say "It's just an ordinary tabloid!". But when Q holds it over himself, 009 immediately asks "Where did you go?", and Q puts the newspaper aside and says "Peekaboo, 009!".

* In an episode of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', Barney spent an entire day spying through one of these in a French restaurant. Subverted in that the woman Robin told him was there wasn't going there; she was just trying to make a point.
* ''Series/MacGyver1985'', "Thief of Budapest" has a scene in which [=McGyver=] hacks a stoplight control box standing in the middle of main street. His cover? People on both sides with newspapers spread out wide.
* In an episode of ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'', Zack and Cody pull newpapers to disguise themselves. However, Zack adds a mouth-hole in his newspaper to eat french fries resulting in the two of them being caught by Maddie.

* An episode of ''Series/HorribleHistories'' had Harriet Tubman use a newspaper as a disguise. The man looking for escaped slaves assumed that a woman who knew how to read couldn't possibly be an escaped slave and left her alone. The Talking Rat didn't deny it, so it was maybe TruthInTelevision.
** This really happened, though it was not so much hiding behind a newspaper but pretending to be someone else by means of a newspaper. The man sitting in the same train compartment was a former master of her, who knew she couldn't read (as it was forbidden to teach slaves to read and to write). She pretended to read the newspaper, hoping that this was enough to throw him off and make him think that she must be someone else.
* In ''[[Series/OpenAllHours Still Open All Hours]]'', Granville tasks Leroy with tailing a local to find out where he is doing his shopping. Leroy does so clutching a magazine in front of his face as cover.
* ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'': Alex insists that she and Mason do this at Zeke's party since she is embarrassed of Mason's werewolf form.

* ''Series/MurdochMysteries'':
** Murdoch employs a newspaper in this fashion while staking out the intersection of Carlton and Parliament in "Murdoch on the Corner". Constable Crabtree has been flamboyantly spending new-found money per Murdoch's instructions, and Murdoch drops his paper to urge Crabtree to go home so they can wait for the killer to follow him there.
** Brackenreid hastily grabs a newspaper from the station's front desk in one of his efforts to hide from temperance crusader Miss Hamilton in "Murdoch Au Naturel".
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest''. The episode "/" starts with ADayInTheLife of Root instead of our main protagonists Harold Finch and John Reese. While she's walking through the park with this week's [[VictimOfTheWeek Number]], Root suddenly walks over to a man reading a newspaper and pulls it down, revealing Harold Finch.
* ''Series/AgentCarter''. Jarvis sits down next to two men reading newspapers at a shoeshine stand. One turns out to be Howard Stark, the other is Creator/StanLee doing his requisite CreatorCameo.
* ''Series/MurderSheWrote'': In "Incident in Lot 7", a suspect eavesdropping on Jessica's conversation in the studio canteen hides behind a menu.
* ''Series/OneHundredThingstoDoBeforeHighSchool'': Crispo spends the second half of "Pilot" attempting to disguise his identity by holding a book in front of his face.

* [[Franchise/RatchetAndClank Clank]] does this while trailing the Kingpin in ''VideoGame/SecretAgentClank''.
* Early in ''VideoGame/Persona5'', [[StudentCouncilPresident Makoto]] can be seen tailing the PlayerCharacter while keeping her nose buried in a huge manga magazine she clearly isn't reading. She'll also run to keep up with him ''while still buried in the mag'', which looks as hilarious (and precarious) as it sounds.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'':
** Subverted in an episode where Flexo (a robot who looks exactly like Bender save for a small metal goatee) disappears along with an expensive atom they were delivering. While looking for him, Leela and Fry find "Bender" first wearing a turtleneck sweater, then a scarf, then holding a newspaper to his face that he refuses to put down. They finally get him to put it down, revealing... that he really ''is'' Bender and Flexo left hours ago.
** Played straight in a later episode, in which Bender finds himself pursued by the New New York police (on whose radar he has fallen due to a previous crime), who attempt to cover their tracks by reading [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial the "Non-Police News"]] before finally giving up the act and arresting Bender. [[spoiler:He gets off clean, which was quite lucky for him--he was carrying data for the Robot Mafia and had just given it to another robot on the street to complete his delivery.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** Done in the episode "A Bird in the Hoof" by Philomena the bird. Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy, who are chasing her around, actually do check behind the newspaper, but appear fooled by the [[PaperThinDisguise fake mustache]] Philomena wears underneath.
** In the episode "Amending Fences", Twilight Sparkle and Minuette stalk Moondancer using this method. Later in the episode we can see [[spoiler:[[ArcVillain Starlight Glimmer]]]] hiding behind a restaurant menu.
* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}'' cartoon "Olive's Sweepstake Ticket": Popeye hides behind a newspaper as he walks, trying to pluck said ticket from a woman's backside.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleRascals'' short "The Case of the Puzzled Pals": Buckwheat, Darla, Porky and Pete hide behind newspapers as they watch Spanky at a store across the street. Porky is also wearing a false beard.
* In the WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse cartoon "Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip", Mickey gets kicked out of the train by conductor WesternAnimation/{{Pete}} for trying to bring Pluto aboard. When they sneak in a second time, Mickey hides behind a newspaper as Pete asks for tickets.

* Harriet Tubman used this as a disguise for herself and escaping slaves. Someone reading a newspaper was seen as educated and not a slave on the run.
* Undercover FBI agent Film/DonnieBrasco would read newspapers so he could listen in on what his fellow Mafiosi were saying, without distracting himself with conversation.

* As it happens, the SecretPolice in many countries actually ''invert'' this: If you walk into a cafe and someone is very obviously reading a newspaper and peering over at you every now and then, it's probably because you're being watched, and the secret police [[ParanoiaFuel want you to know it]].

%% Commented out as Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * ''Anime/ProjectAKo'' spoofed this in one of the films.