A photo of the award ceremony, www.irancartoon.com

There’s a line between thought-provoking, sharp, even controversial cartoons and cartoons that are simply propaganda, reinforcing prejudice and hatred. The line is not always clear to see, but sometimes it is, as in the case of the  2nd Holocaust International Cartoon & Caricature Exhibition 2016 organized in Iran.

Heavily sponsored by the Iranian government (although they deny this), this cartoon competition is no more than a propaganda tool in the hands of the regime. Although we’d rather not give attention to this, we do feel the need to state that this competition goes against everything we believe editorial cartoons should stand for. Cartoons should expose lies and combat prejudice, not reinforce them. It’s sad to see excellent drawing skills wasted on images that do not in any way contribute to a better world.

Here is the link to the gallery, which we share as an example to show what cartoon propaganda looks like; browse at your own peril.