Press cartoonists around the world are increasingly exposed to legal harassment, censorship and threats, creating a 'climate of fear', according to a new report published Monday by Cartooning for Peace and Cartoonists Rights.
Covering the period from June 2023 to June 2025, the report documents 87 cases of threats recorded by Cartooning for Peace, which brings together 374 cartoonists across 79 countries.
Judicial proceedings, particularly in Turkey, India, Malaysia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, are among the most common forms of pressure, alongside outright censorship, the report states.
Such lawsuits are described as 'more insidious repressive mechanisms' that foster fear and self-censorship while avoiding the international attention typically triggered by physical repression. Other recorded cases include death threats and arrests.
"Press cartooning is evolving in an increasingly perilous global environment," the organisations warn.
They argue that freedom of expression, recognised as a fundamental right and a pillar of democracy alongside press freedom, is increasingly being undermined and instrumentalised.
In addition to regimes long known for repression, such as Russia, China, Uganda and Nicaragua, the report points to so-called 'hybrid' regimes with authoritarian practices, including Hungary, the United States and Israel.
In early 2025 in the US, editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned from The Washington Post after editors rejected a cartoon criticising owner Jeff Bezos for allegedly seeking to curry favour with Donald Trump.
