PRESS RELEASE

«UNDER PRESSURE»

Report on the situation of threatened cartoonists around the world (2023-2025)

Paris, February 23, 2026

The new report on the situation of threatened cartoonists around the world, published by Cartooning for Peace and Cartoonists Rights in partnership with the Freedom Cartoonists Foundation, FORHUM, Columbia Global Freedom of Expression at Columbia University, and Reporters Without Borders, will be released on March 2, 2026.

In a context marked by the rise of authoritarianism, the cases of threats against cartoonists documented between 2023 and 2025 by Cartooning for Peace and Cartoonists Rights cast a stark light on the state of democracy around the world. The report opens with the alarming observation of the decline of American democracy.

« It’s a serious warning for Europe: will the Old Continent, the cradle of satirical cartoons in the 18th century, go down the same path or, on the contrary, will it take up the torch as the global beacon of cartoons, critical thinking, and freedom of speech? The question is historic, serious, and urgent: cartoons have always been a barometer of democracy.»

KAK, president of Cartooning for Peace

The report is structured around geographic and thematic insights contributed by numerous authors, including Riss, editorial director of Charlie Hebdo, Reporters Without Borders, Artists at Risk Connection, and the Freedom Cartoonists Foundation.

It also presents the findings of unprecedented research on the online experiences of press cartoonists, conducted by academics Alberto Godioli, Associate Professor at the University of Groningen and co-founder of the Forum for Humor and the Law (ForHum), and Ana Pedrazzini, researcher in communication and semiotic studies at the Patagonian Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences (IPEHCS), CONICET, National University of Comahue in Argentina.

The data revealed raise alarm about a worrying level of online censorship and threats, which often go under the radar, while at the same time press cartoonists are seeing their positions within newsrooms increasingly diminish. There is an urgent need to strengthen mobilization in support of press cartoonists and their profession.

The report is a genuine tool for raising awareness about the situation of threatened press cartoonists worldwide, and also includes a series of recommendations for advocacy purposes, particularly addressed to digital platforms.

The report will be presented in preview at the Festival International du Dessin de Presse et des Médias ÇA PRESSE in Lyon on March 5, 2026, at 2 p.m. at Lyon City Hall as part of a roundtable discussion dedicated to the state of press freedom and freedom of expression worldwide, with the participation of Cartooning for Peace, Cartoonists Rights, and Reporters Without Borders.

It follows on from the report Press Cartoonists on the Front Line (2020–2022) and is supported by the Global Media Defence Fund (GMDF) of UNESCO and by the Centre Français d’exploitation du droit de Copie (CFC).

More information

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CONTACT:

Terry Anderson – Cartoonists Rights                                                      Manon Campbell – Cartooning for Peace

terry.anderson@cartoonistsrights.org                                                   manon.campbell@cartooningforpeace.org

+44 7739 139597                                                                                            +33 7 49 33 55 86