Patrick Chappatte: 'The path for satire has been getting narrower'

Swiss-Lebanese cartoonist Patrick Chappatte talks in our latest On the Record episode about why satire remains both relevant and important. Geneva-based cartoonist Patrick Chappatte, whose cartoons are published among others in The Boston Globe and Le Temps speaks as clearly as his cartoons are direct. As authoritarian regimes crack down on the press and a “caricature sits in the White House”, he aims to show “things how they really are”. A long-term advocate of freedom of expression, he is concerned about the increasing global attacks on satirists and cartoonists. “Humour is a barometer for democracy,” Chappatte says. “Cartoons can act as an antidote to propaganda and disinformation”. As president of the Freedom Cartoonists Foundation, Patrick Chappatte advocates for fellow cartoonists. “We used to fight for cartoonists in remote countries. We’re now fighting for our freedoms in our democracies.” Chappatte currently works for media in Switzerland, Germany, France and the United ...