Third part of this compilation that I started in 2014. It is a list with summaries of cases grouped by different periods.
It has been chopped up because, even summarising a lot, they were too long and became uncomfortable to read and also made the page load difficult
This third list will publish the cases from 2020 onwards, I hope I won’t have to update it too much.
You can consult the two previous instalments here.
Humour in trouble (I). Cases from 1978 to 2016
Humour in trouble (II). Cases from 2017 to 2019
Last updated: 21 April 2022. Total cases: 181
2022
Canada / Steve Nease
A Canadian media group has apologised for the this bullet the Canadian media group has apologised for the Pope’s “Indigenous People’s Statement”, in which the indigenous people are depicted asking the Pope for financial compensation
2022
Spain / Diana Raznovich
The judges, with their complaints, forced the withdrawal of Diana Raznovich this cartoon of Diana Raznovich from an exhibition on micromachistos in the Balearic Islands. The author denounces censorship and asks for the cartoon to be reinstated.
2021
Spain / Javi Salado – La Tribuna de Albacete
The daily La Tribuna de Albacete and its cartoonist, Javi Salado, apologised yesterday for this cartoon published on Sunday 28 November, which was considered racist.
2021
Tanzania/ Osama Hajjaj
Optatus Fwema was arrested at his home on 23 September and questioned without legal representation or the presence of family members in connection with alleged “cybercrimes”, although no charges have yet been filed, possibly for a cartoon posted on his social media
2021
Jordan/ Osama Hajjaj
Osama Hajjaaj was served with a complaint filed by two lawyers which resulted in court proceedings under Section 150 of the Penal Code and Section 15 of the Cybercrime Act for this cartoon.
2021
India/ Manjul
On 8 June, four days after popular political cartoonist Manjul received a notice from Twitter warning him that Indian authorities had asked the social network to take action against his account, he was fired with “immediate effect” from Network 18.
2021
Iran/ Hadi Heidari
Iranian cartoonist Hadi Heidari (Tehran, 1977) and three journalists from the daily Sazandegi have been summoned to court. They will have to face legal proceedings after being denounced for insulting the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament.
2021
USA/ Bill Bramhall
Bramhall, an editorial cartoonist for the Daily News, was criticised for a joke that some considered racist. The media outlet defended the cartoon denying racist intentions and modified the image for its print version
2021
USA/ Pat Bagley
Members of Utah’s Congressional delegation issued a statement in response to this cartoon by Pat Bagley published on 9 April in The Salt Lake Tribune. They called the cartoon insulting and disgusting and called on the newspaper to immediately remove it and apologise.
2021
Egypt/Ashraf Hamdi
“They are arresting me“. With this terse message on his Facebook account, Egyptian cartoonist Ashraf Hamdi announced his arrest on 24 January shortly after publishing a video tribute to the 2011 uprising on the tenth anniversary of the first mass demonstrations that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
2021
Malaysia/Zunar
The popular cartoonist known as “Zunar” faces another possible jail term of up to three years for this cartoon published on 25 January on his social media accounts criticising Kedah state chief Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor’s decision to cancel this year’s celebration of Thaipusam, a Hindu religious festival usually celebrated by the Tamil community on 28 January.
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2021
France/ Xavier Gorce
The French cartoonist Xavier Gorce (1962) announced that he was quitting Le Monde newspaper after the paper apologised for a scandal involving this cartoon over a sexual abuse scandal. In her apology to readers, Le Monde editor-in-chief Caroline Monnot said the cartoon should not have been published.
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2021
Algeria/ Walid Kechida
Twenty-five-year-old Algerian Walid Kechida has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined 500,000 dinars (approx. 3000 euros) for publishing memes satirizing the state and religion, according to the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees (CNLD).
2020 Spain/ Mongolia
At the end of December, the Supreme Court confirmed the condemnation 40,000 euros (which could rise to up to 60,000 euros plus interest and costs) to the satirical magazine Mongolia for infringement of the right to honour of the ex-mortician José Ortega Cano.
The lawsuit came as a result of a 2016 photomontage with Ortega Cano’s face that the magazine used to advertise a musical show in Cartagena (Murcia), the city where Ortega Cano was born. Mongolia opened a crowdfunding campaign on Verkami to raise funds to pay the fine and as of 14 January had already raised €57,390.
The magazine announced that it will appeal the ruling to the Constitutional Court.
Info2020 Mexico/ Rapé
Mexican cartoonist Rafael Pineda, Veracruz (1972), alias “Rapé” (Monero), publicly denounced that on Sunday 4 October he received death threats directed at him and his family.
The cartoonist for the daily Milenio and the political satire magazine El Chamuco received a reply from the National Guard requesting more information on the matter and the support of numerous people, including many colleagues.
2020 France/ Espé
The French cartoonist “Espé” may have broken a record. He was sacked just after his first vignette in a section that opened the newspaper L’Humanité. The author of the article in which the cartoon appeared was also fired. The newspaper called the cartoon “degrading and sexist”, apologised to readers and to cyclist and presenter Marion Rousse, who found the cartoon disparaging to her work and insulting to women.
2020 USA / Pat Bagley
The cartoon pat Bagley’ s cartoon in The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, Utah, led to a statement from the Utah Sheriffs’ Association, the Republican Party and others, who called for the image to be removed and for the newspaper and the cartoonist to retract and apologise.
2020 USA / Michael Ramirez
This cartoon a cartoon by conservative cartoonist Michael Ramirez, published on 16 August in the Southeast Missourian newspaper, provoked another episode of anger and accusations of racism against the newspaper.
2020 France/ Valeurs Actuelle
A cartoon a comic strip by Pascal Garnier provoked a controversy in France, the images accompanying a text published in the far-right French magazine “Valeurs Actuelle”, portrayed the French-Gabonese MP Danièle Obono as a slave.
On 31 August, the Paris public prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary investigation into the French weekly for racist libel.
2020 USA / Mike Luckovitc
The local newspaper, The Laconia Daily Sun (Laconia, New Hampshire), announced that it was ceasing to publish editorial cartoons following complaints about the publication of this cartoon by Mike Luckovitch.
2020 Jordan / Emad Hajja
Jordanian cartoonist Emad Hajjaj was arrested on Wednesday 25 August for allegedly for this cartoon about the Israel-United Arab Emirates deal that was deemed “insulting” to the country. The cartoon was published in Al Araby Al Jadeed (New Arab), a London-based pan-Arab media outlet.
2020 USA / Wylie School District
This cartoon the cartoon, entitled “George Floyd” by cartoonist David Fitzsimmons, “Fitz”, was originally published on 31 May 2020 in the Arizona Daily Star newspaper. The image was added in August 2020 to an exercise for Wylie Independent School District eighth-graders. Texas Governor Greg Abbott called for an investigation by the Texas Education Agency and demanded that the teacher who developed the exercise be fired for comparing police to the Ku Klux Klan. The police also demanded a public apology.
2020 Australia /Johannes Leak – The Australian
This carto on by Johannes Leak, published on 13 August in The Australian, was called racist and other things by some journalists, various members of the public and even politicians who called for an apology from the paper.
2020 Argentina / Sendra
The cartoon by cartoonist Fernando Sendra (1949), published in the Argentinian daily Clarín on Friday 7 August, ironised resolution 34/2020, which requires both public and private companies to include at least 50% women on their boards of directors and supervisory bodies in order to have a composition that respects gender diversity.
Sendra’s joke immediately received responses of repudiation and criticism of all kinds from individuals and groups and , as usual, all hell broke loose on the internet.
2020 USA/ Bianca Xunise/ King Features / Different Media
Some of the newspapers in which it appeared this cartoon communicated their decision to stop publishing the Six Chic strip, some even planted an apology in the place where their next strip was to appear, calling it inappropriate and offensive and asking for an apology from the agency.
2020 Brazil / Renato Aroeira
The Brazilian government is threatening to prosecute the cartoonist Renato Aroeira for this cartoon and also veteran journalist Ricardo Noblat for sharing it on his blog in the magazine “Veja”. The government of the ultra-right-wing Jair Bolsonaro has called for an investigation, using a law from the dictatorship, article 26 of the National Security Law, passed in 1983 during the reign of Joao Figueiredo, Brazil’s last dictator.
2020 USA/ Gary McCoy
On Thursday 11 June, the Morning News of Florence, South Carolina, published the following article a cartoon gary McCoy’s 1962 editorial cartoon on abortion and blacks created controversy and led to the announcement of the disappearance of all editorial cartoons in the paper.
2020 USA/ Tom Stiglich
Johnny Whitefield, editor of The Courier-Times, based in Roxboro, North Carolina, yesterday announced his immediate resignation after the publication of a this cartoon tom Stiglich’s syndicated cartoon that was criticised as racist.
The same cartoon also prompted resignations at the Washington Missourian, a family newspaper in Missouri.
2020 USA / Al Goodwyn
The Journal newspaper in Seneca, South Carolina, issued an apology for this cartoon by cartoonist Al Goodwyn, which claims to be racist conservative and announced that no more cartoons by this author would appear in its pages. Some readers sent their complaints to the newspaper or expressed them on social media pointing out the message of the image as racist.
2020 India / S. Surendra Kumar, Varma
The Indian cartoonist S. Surendra Kumarwho signs his name as Varma, was arrested on Monday 18 May for this cartoon published, and withdrawal for a copyright claim (?), on his Twitter account on Saturday 16 May.
2020 Sweden / Saudi Arabia – Mahmoud Abbas
Several European organisations condemned the insults and death threats against Palestinian cartoonist Mahmoud Abbas, who lives in Sweden. The cartoonist began to receive insults that escalated into death threats after publishing a cartoon about the fall in the price of oil.
2020 Bolivia / Ángel Bellido “Abecor”
The Bolivian newspaper Página Siete wrote a letter to government minister Arturo Murillo requesting protective measures for its cartoonist Abel Bellido, Abecor, who reported being harassed on the internet, the cartoonist received insults and death threats because of his cartoons.
2020 Hungary / Gábor Pápai
The KDNP, the ruling Christian Democratic People’s Party in Hungary, has announced that it will take legal action against the newspaper and its cartoonist Népszava and its cartoonist Gábor Pápai for the cartoon published on 28 April as“blasphemy”.
2020 Bangladesh / Ahmed Kabir Kishore
The RAB, Bangladesh’ s Rapid Action Battalion, arrested cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore . Also arrested were writer Mushtaq Ahmed and two others, Didarul Islam Bhuiyan, an activist of a platform called “Rashtrachinta”, and businessman Minhaz Mannan Emon, under the controversial Digital Security Act (DSA), which many claim is being used against freedom of expression.
2020 Peru / Carlos Tovar Samanez, Carlín
Cartoonist Carlos Tovar Samanez, Carlín, (Lima, 1955) denounced that he was receiving insults and serious threats after the publication of one of his cartoons in the daily La República, where he has worked since 2002
2020 United Kingdom / Morning Star -Stella Perrett
The left-wing Morning Star newspaper removed this cartoon from its online edition and apologised for its publication, also in print. Some readers complained online that the joke dehumanised trans people, depicting them as predators.
2020 Belgium – China / De Standaard – Lectrr
The association of Chinese companies in Belgium and Luxembourg published a note in which it considers that the image of Lectrr, published on its website and on Twitter on 23 January, and also in the daily De Standaard, “insults China and seriously hurts the feelings of the Chinese people“. They add that “the satire is inappropriate and offensive to us and others in various communities throughout the country”.
They demand that both the newspaper and the cartoonist should reproach themselves for their mistake and publicly apologise to the Chinese people.
2020 Portugal – Israel / Sabado Magazine – Vasco Gargalo
A human rights organisation based in Israel called Btsalmo has sent a letter to the editor of the Portuguese magazine Sabado.
They demand the immediate dismissal of the cartoonist Vasco Gargalo (1977) for a cartoon of 2019. In addition, they demand the removal of all copies of the image and a public apology. I have not yet found a response from the magazine.
2020 Denmark – China / Jyllands-Posten – Niels Bo Bojesen
The Chinese embassy in Denmark issued and published on its website a press release in which it urges the newspaper Jyllands-Posten and the author of the cartoon, the cartoonist Niels Bo Bojesen to publicly apologise.
Both the newspaper and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen refused to issue an apology and appealed to freedom of expression.
2020 Turkey /Kazim Güleçyüz and Ibrahim Özdabak
Kazim Güleçyüz, editor of the daily Yeni Asya and its cartoonist, Ibrahim Özdabak (Twitter – Web), received suspended jail sentences of one year and eight months and one year and six months respectively on terrorism charges for their social media posts and cartoons at the end of January.
2020 Spain / Editorial Comanegra and Toni Galmés
Toni Galmés has the sad honour of being the first illustrator to be charged in 2020 for drawings and opens the third instalment of the list. Several police unions sued him for libel for a work he did for a book, published in 2018, for the publishing house Comanegra.
In the complaint, filed in mid-June 2019 by JUPOL Baleares, the police unions demanded, among other things, the banning and destruction of the humorous book and a public apology from authors and publishers.
On 30 January 2020, he will testify as a person under investigation. The publishing house Comanegra was also denounced at the time by the same groups for embezzlement, among other things.
