Cartoons of Bob Moran are Used to Popularize Antisemitic Dog-Whistles
A new issue of The Light - a fringe newspaper focused mainly on anti-vax narratives, and New World Order conspiracy theories, featured a cartoon showing the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky performing the Nazi salute and wearing Nazi Germany uniform with a symbol of Wolfsangel, as used by Waffen SS.
The cartoon is accompanied by an article explaining the war in Ukraine, and is full of factual misrepresentations, closely aligned with pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives. The article is trying to prove that the Ukrainian government is captured by Nazi fanatics, as the author goes onto manipulate current and historical facts, as well as geography and historical borders of countries.
The creator of the cartoon, Bob Moran, is an acclaimed illustrator who featured in publications like The Telegraph and the Guardian. He is a supporter of the anti-vax movement; in his cartoons, he often includes anti-vax conspiracy theories, using antisemitic dog-whistles and tokenization of Nazism, featuring leaders advocating strict Covid protocols, like Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wearing Nazi insignia. His cartoons frequently depict caricatures of people targeted by antisemitic conspiracy theorists, including well-known figures, from Bill Gates, to Dr Anthony Fauci, or the founder of World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab.
In the face of the war in Ukraine, Anti-vax groups adopted conspiracy theories purporting Zelensky as a puppet of Klaus Schwab, supporting the misinformation that the conflict is being used to distract from releasing Covid data. There is an intense use of narratives sometimes closely aligning with Russian propaganda, mostly striving to prove Russia’s points about rampant Nazism in the Ukrainian government. Adherents are often praising Russia’s invasion as a move against ‘the deep state’ or destruction of American biolabs on the Ukrainian territory. They are routinely trying to excuse actions of Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
The problem with the cartoon is that it not only ignores the suffering of the millions of people affected by the war, it also objectifies and disrespects victims of the Holocaust and the Nazi totalitarian regime during WW2. The use of antisemitic dog whistles in Bob Moran’s artwork perpetuates bias and stereotypes in society, insinuating that high-profile members of the Jewish community are pulling the strings from behind through their lobbying prowess and financial power.
His high-quality visuals are increasingly being used to spread disturbing conspiracy theories. Creative freedom and free speech are important values in every democratic society, but every artist has a responsibility that comes with the prominence and impact that they gain, to send fair and accurate message to their audience. Bob Moran has the right to be critical about the government’s actions and wrong decisions taken during the course of the pandemic, but antisemitic tropes perpetuated in his cartoons, are putting other communities at risk.
