Complaint - British Cartoonist, Bob Moran

The following complaint letter was sent to British cartoonist, Bob Moran in response to an antisemitic artwork which has been sold on his website. In January 2022, Bob began working for The Democracy Fund, a Canadian charity, for which he produces three artworks every week that are available to download, free of charge, to any newspaper, magazine or online publication anywhere in the world.

Dear Bob Moran, 

We are writing to you from the Media Diversity Institute to express our concerns about you artwork piece 'Shwabtopus', which has been published by British media, including the independent newspaper, The Light, known for promoting far-right conspiracy narratives. 

This artwork displays the very common antisemitic trope of an octopus controlling the world. This trope, illustrating the New World Order conspiracy narrative, represents the antisemitic theory that wealthy, Jewish men are controlling the world. More information on the Jewish Octopus trope, which has 19th century roots but was most fully exploited in Nazi Germany, can be found in this article by the Centre for Analysis of the Far-Right. 

We understand that the restrictions imposed during the pandemic to protect public health, have had severe consequences on many individuals’ quality of life and we can empathise with any hardship which you have personally faced. Nevertheless, we implore you to consider this situation from the perspective of the wider Jewish community, who would find this artwork deeply offensive due to its promotion of a hateful trope. 

We would strongly discourage you from further dissemination and publishing of this artwork. If you would like any further information about the dangers of the New World Order conspiracy theory, we have published information on our website which may be helpful.    
The Media Diversity Institute campaigns for equality and works to protect individuals right to freedom of thought, belief and religion, and we challenge hate-speech, disinformation and discriminatory narratives which target minorities and impede on human rights.  Whilst we encourage freedom of expression and dialogues about the impacts of the pandemic, we strongly advise caution in your artwork to ensure that you do not display or promote hateful, harmful or untruthful messages.  

If you would like to address any of the points raised in our email directly, or if you would like additional information, we would be happy to discuss it with you directly.  

We look forward to hearing from you.  

Yours Sincerely, 

The Media Diversity Institute 

The antisemitic cartoon was also promoted during an interview on GBNews with the cartoonist, Bob Moran.