The present working paper brings into question the idea, common in the literature on transparency, that central bank announcements are truthful per se.By means of a simple model, the paper explains why the monetary policymaker could act strategically in disclosing information.The empirical analysis of in ‡ation forecasts published by six central banks (regarded as highly transparent), albeit preliminary, is consistent with the model's implications, and therefore with the presence of strategic behaviour in such forecasts.