Mr. Chappatte, at the beginning of the year, American cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned from the Washington Post because the paper did not publish one of her critical cartoons. Has it ever happened to you that a publisher did not publish a caricature you created because they thought it was too risky?

Patrick Chappatte: Ann Telnaes was actually only describing reality when she drew the tech moguls who bow to “King Trump” and offer him money. Among them was Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post. The paper was afraid to publish the cartoon. Telnaes had worked for the Washington Post for 17 years, and her resignation was a response to this self-censorship. With this move, she made it clear that the paper is neglecting its commitment to its readership, public debate and democracy. Telnaes has shown courage, while the paper has betrayed its own tradition. But to get back to your question: That has never happened to me. This also has something to do with the way I work.

How do you work?

Chappatte: I always make several drafts, which I send to the editorial team so that they can give feedback on what they like best. In the end, I decide, but this approach sparks a discussion with the editorial team. Of course, we do not always agree. But there has never been a break with an employer.

Have you become more cautious over the years?

Chappatte: I’m trying not to be more cautious. The work of a caricaturist is a constant struggle for your own freedom. The public’s tolerance has also changed.

Have we become more sensitive?

Franz Zeller: Large sections of society have become more sensitive to certain issues, such as gender stereotypes or the situation of people with disabilities. And the legal situation is adapting to this change of mood. A few years ago, the prohibition of discrimination in Art. 261bis of the Criminal Code was extended to include incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation. A further extension is currently under discussion in Parliament: Incitement to hatred on the grounds of gender will also be punishable in the future.

Chappatte: In recent years, we caricaturists have felt pressure from some sections of society and cancel culture has gained in significance. Today, activists use social media as a means of exerting pressure on editorial teams in cases of alleged or actual discrimination – and these are usually taken by surprise. Every subscription cancellation is problematic. The Gaza conflict has been a particularly frequent cause for such interventions over the past two years, especially in German-language media. After all, case law has protected freedom of expression.

“Large sections of society have become more sensitive to certain issues. And the legal situation is adapting to this change of mood.”

Franz Zeller

Are the new legal options really being used against the media?

Zeller: In Switzerland, legal aspects are rarely the reason why a caricature is not published. Recently, however, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) have become increasingly common. These aim to intimidate the media with very high demands for money.

Chappatte: This is one of the forms of pressure that autocratic regimes and currently also the Trump administration are using against the media. The media must then defend themselves against this in court. The New York Times recently faced a $ 15 billion lawsuit. Of course, this has a deterrent effect and leads to self-censorship.

Will these strategic lawsuits also be used in Switzerland?

Zeller: In Switzerland, SLAPPs have so far been directed less at the media than at non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that criticize large companies. In addition, I think the courts have become more liberal. It is not often that you will find people complaining about caricatures in Switzerland. And it takes a lot for the judiciary to ultimately decide that a caricature has gone too far.

What about other journalistic content? So, in other words: What about the freedom of the press in Switzerland?

Zeller: Compared to other countries, Switzerland is still doing very well: It ranks ninth in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) press freedom ranking. According to the RSF, however, anti-press sentiment is on the rise in many sections of society, as are media concentration and economic pressure on the industry. In fact, there is a risk that established media companies will increasingly shy away from explosive and costly investigative journalism. In purely legal terms, there have been and still are a number of shortcomings that have led to convictions of Switzerland by the European Court of Human Rights. For example, inadequate protection of journalistic sources, disproportionate convictions for certain investigative methods or the sometimes excessive protection of economic or personal reputation.

How does political satire in Switzerland differ from other countries such as France or the USA?

Chappatte: In 2019, the New York Times, for which I had worked for almost 20 years, gave up on political caricatures. The reason for this was a caricature showing the first Trump administration blindly supporting Israeli President Netanyahu. The drawing was labeled anti-Semitic and there were demonstrations in front of the editorial building. After two weeks, the publisher decided to refrain from publishing political caricatures in the future and also terminated my contract.

That was a big change in my career: I was confronted with a major international medium closing a space of freedom. In this respect, I felt similar to Ann Telnaes. The US is undergoing a profound cultural change that is having a frightening impact on the freedom of expression and humor. In the United States, we are witnessing the return of state censorship, which we have seen in Hungary, China and other countries.

In France, on the other hand, political humor has a long tradition. Honoré Daumier is considered the grandfather of political caricature. In France, the fight for freedom of the press and freedom of representation went hand in hand with the fight against monarchy and censorship. This tradition has left its mark on Switzerland, especially on French-speaking Switzerland. Germany and its relationship to caricature, on the other hand, are a mystery to me. Comments, speeches, analyses and journalism are considered serious, while a caricature, on the other hand, is considered funny and therefore frivolous. But a caricature doesn’t have to be funny.

“It’s easy to shock with a pen and a piece of paper. It’s harder to get people to think about your cartoon.”

Patrick Chappatte

Our society is increasingly polarized. Doesn’t this development actually make your work easier?

Chappatte: It is easy to provoke, but difficult to describe the situation in all its nuances. Today I sometimes have the feeling that I draw in a more nuanced way than flat reality.

Zeller: And your job is also to surprise the audience, isn’t it? And you can’t surprise people if you are too obvious.

Chappatte: Yes, you can. It’s easy to shock with a pen and a piece of paper. It’s harder to get people to think about your cartoon. Understanding the irony requires education and an understanding of the ambiguity: I point out one thing, but imply another. This finesse is lost these days. There is a saying: “The wise man points at the moon, the fool sees the finger”. We don’t look at the moon as often as we look at our fingers – and then we go on social media and start a shitstorm.

How did the attack on Charlie Hebdo ten years ago affect your personal work?

Chappatte: That was a turning point for political satire, comparable to 9/11. In Paris, people were killed because of their caricatures, something like that had never happened before. We talked earlier about the differences in humor between countries. But today, cartoons are distributed all over the world and can encounter groups that do not understand this kind of humor and react violently to it. I have to accept that.

How do you personally deal with criticism?

Chappatte: Today, criticism mainly takes place on social media. I have several such channels through which I post my work. But I never interact.

You don’t explain your work?

Chappatte: Explaining myself is lost time for me. It all gets lost in this social media garbage. So I just post my thing and let people debate.

Is political satire losing importance in Swiss newspapers?

Zeller: It is certainly having a hard time of it in conventional print media – at least in German-speaking Switzerland. But I’m sure it has a future. We need humor, we need art. I’m optimistic about that.

Chappatte: Political satire has always found a way to express itself. But its development is closely linked to the development of the media, and the trend here is not good. Some caricaturists are looking for alternatives, and they are very successful on certain platforms such as Substack. They build up a large audience and earn money. There are also other forms, such as theater: I gave about 40 performances of my show “Chappatte en scène” last year and they were all fully booked.