Exiled Iranian cartoonists Mana Neyestani, Kianoush Ramezani and Sanaz Bagheri use satire to represent voices silenced by censorship and repression in Iran. Social media has been their main lifeline, but a near-total internet shutdown since the conflict escalated in February has left roughly 90 million people effectively cut off. Their work often targets state figures such as Ayatollah Khamenei and draws on the Women, Life, Freedom movement ignited by Mahsa Amini's death.
Exiled Cartoonists Amplify Iran’s Silenced Millions as Internet Blackouts Muzzle the Country
Iranian cartoonist Sanaz Bagheri (JOHN THYS)(JOHN THYS/AFP/AFP)
Exiled Iranian cartoonists are using sharp satire to represent voices that are being silenced at home amid growing censorship and a near-total internet blackout. Mana Neyestani, Kianoush Ramezani and Sanaz Bagheri publish provocative work from abroad while trying to reach millions inside Iran through social platforms.
Voices From Exile
Mana Neyestani, based in Paris, has built a large following inside Iran with his biting cartoons. One recent image — two men hold a banner reading "No to war," while one of them also wears a balaclava and holds a gallows — captures the fraught dilemma many Iranians feel about the conflict and the regime's messaging. "It's difficult to work right now," Neyestani says. "You either get labelled as a lover of the war or of the Islamic Republic."
Satire, Targets and Themes
The exiled artists frequently target high-profile figures and symbols of state power. Their drawings often lampoon Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and draw inspiration from the Women, Life, Freedom protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022. Neyestani and Ramezani portray women and schoolgirls as central figures in many works, emphasizing popular demands for rights and change.
"This system is built on sanctifying the supreme leader and other figures. They have invested enormous effort to construct that sanctity — and a simple cartoon can undermine it," Ramezani says.
Digital Reach—and Shutdown
Social media has been the primary channel for these cartoonists to reach Iranian audiences: Neyestani alone has close to a million Instagram followers. But that reach has been drastically limited by a near-total internet shutdown since the conflict escalated in February, leaving roughly 90 million people with restricted access to independent information.
Harassment and Cyber Campaigns
Exiled artists report sustained harassment from coordinated online campaigns they say are linked to actors sympathetic to Tehran. These campaigns include mass reporting to social platforms, attempts to get content removed, and tactics intended to reduce visibility such as shadow-banning. "They spend a lot of money to create this kind of cyber army and they systematically attack you," Ramezani says.
A Kafkaesque Exile
Neyestani's own exile traces back to 2006, when a cartoon of a boy talking to a cockroach was interpreted as an insult to parts of Iran's Azeri community and sparked violent reactions. He later documented his imprisonment and ordeal in the graphic memoir "An Iranian Metamorphosis." The experience illustrates how a single drawing can carry huge consequences for artists in and outside Iran.
Despite the risks, these cartoonists continue to publish, using satire to challenge narratives, document dissent and try to preserve a channel of communication with those inside Iran.
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