A cartoonist shows the way for courage and principle, while a major newspaper tramples on freedom of expression and humiliates itself in the process: Ann Telnaes leaves The Washington Post after the rejection of a cartoon showing tech moguls including Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos (the paper’s owner) courting Trump.

Of course, every news outlet has the right to choose what to print and what not to print. But by not daring to run this biting, to-the-point depiction of the current power plays around the Trump administration, the Washington Post is betraying the tradition of critical journalism for which it is renowned. A once-great American newspaper is showing that it is now afraid of political satire – and the truth – when it involves billionaire Jeff Bezos.

David Shipley, editor of the Opinions section, denies any censorship, saying the cartoon coincided with an article on the same subject…. The solution is simple, David: publish that cartoon in the coming days! (And keep working with one of the best cartoonists in the world.)

We are proud and fortunate to have Ann on the advisory board of the Freedom Cartoonists Foundation in Geneva, which has been defending press freedom and editorial cartooning since 2010, and we fully support her in her fight for freedom of expression and opinion in a context of rapidly evolving self-censorship in the American media. A country that was once a beacon of journalism, human rights and democracy is showing worrying signs of weakness in these areas.

Patrick Chappatte,
Foundation Chair

👉 READ Ann Telnaes’ essay: “Why I am quitting the Washington Post” 👉  https://anntelnaes.substack.com/p/why-im-quitting-the-washington-post