political cartoon analysis assignment

The New York Times

The Learning Network | Drawing for Change: Analyzing and Making Political Cartoons

Drawing for Change: Analyzing and Making Political Cartoons

Updated, Nov. 19, 2015 | We have now announced the winners of our 2015 Editorial Cartoon Contest here .

Political cartoons deliver a punch. They take jabs at powerful politicians, reveal official hypocrisies and incompetence and can even help to change the course of history . But political cartoons are not just the stuff of the past. Cartoonists are commenting on the world’s current events all the time, and in the process, making people laugh and think. At their best, they challenge our perceptions and attitudes.

Analyzing political cartoons is a core skill in many social studies courses. After all, political cartoons often serve as important primary sources, showing different perspectives on an issue. And many art, history and journalism teachers take political cartoons one step further, encouraging students to make their own cartoons.

In this lesson, we provide three resources to assist teachers working with political cartoons:

• an extended process for analyzing cartoons and developing more sophisticated interpretations;
• a guide for making cartoons, along with advice on how to make one from Patrick Chappatte, an editorial cartoonist for The International New York Times ;
• a resource library full of links to both current and historic political cartoons.

Use this lesson in conjunction with our Editorial Cartoon Contest or with any political cartoon project you do with students.

Materials | Computers with Internet access. Optional copies of one or more of these two handouts: Analyzing Editorial Cartoons ; Rubric for our Student Editorial Cartoon Contest .

Analyzing Cartoons

While political cartoons are often an engaging and fun source for students to analyze, they also end up frustrating many students who just don’t possess the strategies or background to make sense of what the cartoonist is saying. In other words, understanding a cartoon may look easier than it really is.

Learning how to analyze editorial cartoons is a skill that requires practice. Below, we suggest an extended process that can be used over several days, weeks or even a school year. The strength of this process is that it does not force students to come up with right answers, but instead emphasizes visual thinking and close reading skills. It provides a way for all students to participate, while at the same time building up students’ academic vocabulary so they can develop more sophisticated analyses over time.

Throughout this process, you might choose to alternate student groupings and class formats. For example, sometimes students will work independently, while other times they will work in pairs or small groups. Similarly, students may focus on one single cartoon, or they may have a folder or even a classroom gallery of multiple cartoons.

Open-Ended Questioning

We suggest beginning cartoon analysis using the same three-question protocol we utilize every Monday for our “ What’s Going On in This Picture? ” feature to help students bring to the surface what the cartoon is saying:

• What is going on in this editorial cartoon?
• What do you see that makes you say that?
• What more can you find?

These simple, open-ended questions push students to look closely at the image without pressuring them to come up with a “correct” interpretation. Students can notice details and make observations without rushing, while the cyclical nature of the questions keeps sending them back to look for more details.

As you repeat the process with various cartoons over time, you may want to ask students to do this work independently or in pairs before sharing with the whole class. Here is our editorial cartoon analysis handout (PDF) to guide students analyzing any cartoon, along with one with the above Patrick Chappatte cartoon (PDF) already embedded.

Developing an Academic Vocabulary and a Keener Eye

Once students gain confidence noticing details and suggesting different interpretations, always backed up by evidence, it is useful to introduce them to specific elements and techniques cartoonists use. Examples include: visual symbols, metaphors, exaggeration, distortion, stereotypes, labeling, analogy and irony. Helping students recognize and identify these cartoonists’ tools will enable them to make more sophisticated interpretations.

The Library of Congress (PDF) and TeachingHistory.org (PDF) both provide detailed explanations of what these elements and techniques mean, and how cartoonists use them.

In addition to those resources, three other resources that can help students develop a richer understanding of a cartoon are:

• The SOAPSTone strategy, which many teachers use for analyzing primary sources, can also be used for looking at political cartoons.
• This student handout (PDF) breaks up the analysis into two parts: identifying the main idea and analyzing the method used by the artist.
• The National Archives provides a cartoon analysis work sheet to help students reach higher levels of understanding.

Once students get comfortable using the relevant academic vocabulary to describe what’s going on in a cartoon, we suggest returning to the open-ended analysis questions we started with, so students can become more independent and confident cartoon analysts.

Making an Editorial Cartoon

The Making of an Editorial Cartoon

Patrick Chappatte, an editorial cartoonist for The International New York Times, offers advice on how to make an editorial cartoon while working on deadline.

Whether you are encouraging your students to enter our Student Editorial Cartoon Contest , or are assigning students to make their own cartoons as part of a history, economics, journalism, art or English class, the following guide can help you and your students navigate the process.

Learn from an Editorial Cartoonist

We asked Patrick Chappatte, an editorial cartoonist for The International New York Times, to share with us how he makes an editorial cartoon on deadline, and to offer students advice on how to make a cartoon. Before watching the film above, ask students to take notes on: a) what they notice about the process of making a cartoon, and b) what advice Mr. Chappatte gives students making their own cartoons.

After watching, ask students to share what information they find useful as they prepare to make their own editorial cartoons.

Then, use these steps — a variation on the writing process — to help guide students to make their own cartoons.

Step 1 | Brainstorm: What Is a Topic or Issue You Want to Comment On?

As a professional cartoonist, Mr. Chappatte finds themes that connect to the big news of the day. As a student, you may have access to a wider or narrower range of topics from which to choose. If you are entering a cartoon into our Student Editorial Cartoon Contest, you can pick any topic or issue covered in The New York Times, which not only opens up the whole world to you, but also historical events as well — from pop music to climate change to the Great Depression. If this a class assignment, you may have different instructions.

Step 2 | Make a Point: What Do You Want to Say About Your Topic?

Once you pick an issue, you need to learn enough about your topic to have something meaningful to say. Remember, a political cartoon delivers commentary or criticism on a current issue, political topic or historical event.

For example, if you were doing a cartoon about the deflated football scandal would you want to play up the thought that Tom Brady must have been complicit, or would you present him as a victim of an overzealous N.F.L. commissioner? Considering the Republican primaries , would you draw Donald Trump as a blowhard sucking air out of the room and away from more serious candidates, or instead make him the standard- bearer for a genuine make-America-great-again movement?

You can see examples of how two cartoonists offer differing viewpoints on the same issue in Newspaper in Education’s Cartoons for the Classroom and NPR’s Double Take .

Mr. Chappatte explains that coming up with your idea is the most important step. “How do ideas come? I have no recipe,” he says. “While you start reading about the story, you want to let the other half of your brain loose.”

Strategies he suggests for exploring different paths include combining two themes, playing with words, making a joke, or finding an image that sums up a situation.

Step 3 | Draw: What Are Different Ways to Communicate Your Ideas?

Then, start drawing. Try different angles, test various approaches. Don’t worry too much about the illustration itself; instead, focus on getting ideas on paper.

Mr. Chappatte says, “The drawing is not the most important part. Seventy-five percent of a cartoon is the idea, not the artistic skills. You need to come up with an original point of view. And I would say that 100 percent of a cartoon is your personality.”

Consider using one or more of the elements and techniques that cartoonists often employ, such as visual symbols, metaphors, exaggeration, distortion, labeling, analogy and irony.

Step 4 | Get Feedback: Which Idea Lands Best?

Student cartoonists won’t be able to get feedback from professional editors like Mr. Chappatte does at The International New York Times, but they should seek feedback from other sources, such as teachers, fellow students or even family members. You certainly can ask your audience which sketch they like best, but you can also let them tell you what they observe going on in the cartoon, to see what details they notice, and whether they figure out the ideas you want to express.

Step 5 | Revise and Finalize: How Can I Make an Editorial Cartoon?

Once you pick which draft you’re going to run with, it’s time to finalize the cartoon. Try to find the best tools to match your style, whether they are special ink pens, markers or a computer graphics program.

As you work, remember what Mr. Chappatte said: “It’s easier to be outrageous than to be right on target. You don’t have to shoot hard; you have to aim right. To me the best cartoons give you in one visual shortcut everything of a complex situation; funny and deep, both light and heavy; I don’t do these cartoons every day, not even every week, but those are the best.” That’s the challenge.

Step 6 | Publish: How Can My Editorial Cartoon Reach an Audience?

Students will have the chance to publish their editorial cartoons on the Learning Network on or before Oct. 20, 2015 as part of our Student Contest. We will use this rubric (PDF) to help select winners to feature in a separate post. Students can also enter their cartoons in the Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards new editorial cartoon category for a chance to win a national award and cash prize.

Even if your students aren’t making a cartoon for our contest, the genre itself is meant to have an audience. That audience can start with the teacher, but ideally it shouldn’t end there.

Students can display their cartoons to the class or in groups. Classmates can have a chance to respond to the artist, leading to a discussion or debate. Students can try to publish their cartoons in the school newspaper or other local newspapers or online forums. It is only when political cartoons reach a wider audience that they have the power to change minds.

Where to Find Cartoons

Finding the right cartoons for your students to analyze, and to serve as models for budding cartoonists, is important. For starters, Newspaper in Education provides a new “ Cartoons for the Classroom ” lesson each week that pairs different cartoons on the same current issue. Below, we offer a list of other resources:

• Patrick Chappatte
• Brian McFadden

A Selection of the Day’s Cartoons

• Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
• U.S. News and World Report

Recent Winners of the Herblock Prize, the Thomas Nast Award and the Pulitzer Prize

• Kevin Kallaugher in the Baltimore Sun
• Jen Sorensen in The Austin Chronicle
• Tom Tomorrow in The Nation
• Signe Wilkinson in the Philadelphia Daily News
• Adam Zyglis in The Buffalo News
• Kevin Siers in The Charlotte Observer
• Steve Sack in the Star Tribune

Historical Cartoonists

• Thomas Nast
• Paul Conrad

Other Historical Cartoon Resources

• Library of Congress | It’s No Laughing Matter
• BuzzFeed | 15 Historic Cartoons That Changed The World

Please share your own experiences with teaching using political cartoons in the comments section.

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How to Analyze Political Cartoons

Last Updated: January 16, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 581,453 times.

Political cartoons use imagery and text to comment on a contemporary social issue. They may contain a caricature of a well-known person or an allusion to a contemporary event or trend. [1] X Research source By examining the image and text elements of the cartoon, you can start to understand its deeper message and evaluate its effectiveness.

Examining the Image and Text

Common Symbols in Political Cartoons

Uncle Sam or an eagle for the United States John Bull, Britannia or a lion for the United Kingdom A beaver for Canada A bear for Russia A dragon for China A sun for Japan A kangaroo for Australia A donkey for the US Democratic Party An elephant for the US Republican Party

• Many political cartoonists will include caricatures of well-known politicians, which means they’ll exaggerate their features or bodies for humor, easy identification, or to emphasize a point. For example, an artist might make an overweight politician even larger to emphasize their greed or power.

• For example, if the cartoonist shows wealthy people receiving money while poorer people beg them for change, they’re using irony to show the viewer how wrong they believe the situation to be.

• For example, the stereotype of a fat man in a suit often stands for business interests.
• If you’re analyzing a historical political cartoon, take its time period into account. Was this kind of stereotype the norm for this time? How is the artist challenging or supporting it?

Text in Political Cartoons

Labels might be written on people, objects or places. For example, a person in a suit might be labeled “Congress,” or a briefcase might be labeled with a company’s name.

Text bubbles might come from one or more of the characters to show dialogue. They’re represented by solid circles or boxes around text.

Thought bubbles show what a character is thinking. They usually look like small clouds.

Captions or titles are text outside of the cartoon, either below or above it. They give more information or interpretation to what is happening in the cartoon itself.

• For example, a cartoon about voting might include a voting ballot with political candidates and celebrities, indicating that more people may be interested in voting for celebrities than government officials.
• The effectiveness of allusions often diminishes over time, as people forget about the trends or events.

Analyzing the Issue and Message

• If you need help, google the terms, people, or places that you recognize and see what they’ve been in the news for recently. Do some background research and see if the themes and events seem to connect to what you saw in the cartoon.

• The view might be complex, but do your best to parse it out. For example, an anti-war cartoon might portray the soldiers as heroes, but the government ordering them into battle as selfish or wrong.

• For example, a political cartoon in a more conservative publication will convey a different message, and use different means of conveying it, than one in a liberal publication.

Rhetorical Devices

Pathos: An emotional appeal that tries to engage the reader on an emotional level. For example, the cartoonist might show helpless citizens being tricked by corporations to pique your pity and sense of injustice.

Ethos: An ethical appeal meant to demonstrate the author’s legitimacy as someone who can comment on the issue. This might be shown through the author’s byline, which could say something like, “by Tim Carter, journalist specializing in economics.”

Logos: A rational appeal that uses logical evidence to support an argument, like facts or statistics. For example, a caption or label in the cartoon might cite statistics like the unemployment rate or number of casualties in a war.

• Does it make a sound argument?
• Does it use appropriate and meaningful symbols and words to convey a viewpoint?
• Do the people and objects in the cartoon adequately represent the issue?

Community Q&A

• Keep yourself informed on current events in order to more clearly understand contemporary political cartoons. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 0
• If you are having trouble discerning the meaning of a political cartoon, try talking with friends, classmates, or colleagues. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 3
• Historical context: When?
• Intended audience: For who?
• Point of view: Author's POV.
• Purpose: Why?
• Significance: For what reason?

• Political cartoons are oftentimes meant to be funny and occasionally disregard political correctness. If you are offended by a cartoon, think about the reasons why a cartoonist would use certain politically incorrect symbols to describe an issue. Thanks Helpful 14 Not Helpful 2

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://teachinghistory.org/teaching-materials/teaching-guides/21733
• ↑ https://teachinghistory.org/sites/default/files/2018-08/Cartoon_Analysis_0.pdf
• ↑ https://www.metaphorandart.com/articles/exampleirony.html
• ↑ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/educators/types/lesson3.html
• ↑ https://www.writerswrite.co.za/the-12-common-archetypes/
• ↑ https://www.lsu.edu/hss/english/files/university_writing_files/item35402.pdf
• ↑ https://www.mindtools.com/axggxkv/paraphrasing-and-summarizing
• ↑ http://www.ysmithcpallen.com/sites/default/files/Analyzing-and-Interpreting-Political-Cartoons1.ppt

About This Article

To analyze political cartoons, start by looking at the picture and identifying the main focus of the cartoon, which will normally be exaggerated for comic effect. Then, look for popular symbols, like Uncle Sam, who represents the United States, or famous political figures. Make note of which parts of the symbols are exaggerated, and note any stereotypes that the artists is playing with. Once you’ve identified the main point, look for subtle details that create the rest of the story. For tips on understanding and recognizing persuasive techniques used in illustration, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Analyzing the Stylistic Choices of Political Cartoonists

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

Students learn terminology that describes comics and political (or editorial) cartoons and discuss how the cartoonists' choices influence the messages that they communicate. Students first identify and define the various parts of a cartoon, including layout and design, angles, and text terms. After discussing several cartoons as a full class, each student analyzes the techniques that the same cartoonist uses in five or more cartoons. Students compare the techniques in the group of cartoons and draw conclusions about why the cartoonist chose the specific techniques to communicate their messages. This lesson points to contemporary political cartoons but can also be completed with historical political cartoons.

From Theory to Practice

Students are surrounded by texts, print and nonprint, that take advantage of the increasing options for combining words, images, sounds, and other media to create a publication. As these options increase, the capabilities that students must develop to be knowledgeable members of their literacy communities also increase. As the 1975 NCTE Resolution on Promoting Media Literacy states, "new critical abilities ‘in reading, listening, viewing, and thinking'...enable students to deal constructively with complex new modes of delivering information, new multisensory tactics for persuasion, and new technology-based art forms." Political cartoons provide an opportunity to explore these critical abilities in the classroom. By asking students to explore the ways that cartoons combine words and images to communicate their messages, this lesson plan asks students to develop and hone the multimodal literacy skills that ultimately help them participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities. Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

• Political cartoons for demonstration
• Five or more political cartoons by a single cartoonist
• Political Cartoon Analysis Sheet
• Political Cartoon Analysis Assignment
• Political Cartoon Comparison Sheet
• Political Cartoon Analysis Rubric
• Political Cartoon Analysis Peer Review
• Comic Vocabulary Definitions and Examples: Text Containers
• Comic Vocabulary Definitions and Examples: Layout & Design
• Comic Vocabulary Definitions and Examples: Angles

Preparation

• You will need several cartoons for the full class to analyze.
• Students will need five to ten cartoons by a single editorial cartoonist. The cartoons do not need to be consecutive, simply by the same cartoonist.
• Students may all work on the same group of cartoons, or you may allow students to choose their own cartoons.
• You may want to choose the cartoons yourself to ensure that the pieces are all appropriate for the classroom.
• Your students can search for cartoons in newspapers archived in the library or search online at Daryl Cagle's Pro Cartoonists Index , Newseum , Herblock's History , and The Political Dr. Seuss .
• If students will search library archives for the cartoons, arrange for Session Two to take place in the library. If students will search for cartoons on the Internet, arrange for computer lab access and ensure that any site filters will not block the political cartoons students will need for their work.
• Decide the amount of detail to discuss in your exploration of comic book style. You may choose to include Text , Layout and Design , and Angles ; or you may limit your discussion with the class to one or two of the areas. The handouts duplicate the information available in the Comic Vocabulary Interactive . Use the option which is best for your class.
• If necessary, adapt the Political Cartoon Analysis Assignment to fit your class and available resources.
• Make copies of the Political Cartoon Analysis Assignment , Political Cartoon Analysis Sheet , Political Cartoon Comparison Sheet , Political Cartoon Analysis Peer Review , and Political Cartoon Analysis Rubric . If photocopying is possible, make a copy of the Political Cartoon Analysis Sheet for each cartoon that each student will analyze. Otherwise, students can reproduce the chart on notebook paper or in their journals. Make an overhead transparency of the chart and display it for students to copy.
• Test the Comic Vocabulary Interactive and Analyzing a Political Cartoon: "Settin' on a Rail" on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

Student Objectives

Students will:

• explore basic information about political cartoonists' techniques.
• analyze a cartoonists' techniques.
• write guidelines that explain how to analyze a cartoonists' work.
• participate in peer review of one another's guidelines.
• revise and polish drafts of their work.

Session One

• Display a political cartoon that you have chosen as a class example using an overhead projector or pass out copies of the cartoon. Alternatively, use the Analyzing a Political Cartoon: "Settin' on a Rail" to explore an historical political cartoon with the class.
• Ask students to respond to the cartoon, noting anything that stands out and any questions that they have.
• Explain that the class will be exploring political cartoons in more detail.
• Use the Comic Vocabulary Interactive to identify the parts of cartoons, or allow students to explore the interactive independently. If computers are not available, use the Comic Vocabulary Definitions sheets on Text , Layout and Design , and Angles .
• Begin with the Text Vocabulary , and have students apply the vocabulary from the interactive or definition sheets to the political cartoon that the class has been exploring. Ask students to expand the list as necessary to include any additional ways that the cartoonist has used text in the example cartoon.
• Move to the Layout and Design terms and the Angles terms, and encourage students to consider why the cartoonists have used the techniques that they have and how the different elements work together to communicate a message.
• To give students additional practice, arrange the class in small groups and give each group one or more additional political cartoons.
• To organize students’ analysis, pass out the Political Cartoon Analysis Sheet , and have groups take notes on the different characteristics of the cartoon(s) they are analyzing. Encourage groups to discuss why the cartoonists have used the techniques that they have in the cartoons that they are analyzing.
• Once groups have completed their analysis, gather the class and have each group present their observations to the class.
• If desired, have students read Cartoon Analysis Guide for additional background information.

Session Two

• Briefly review the comic terms from the previous class and, if students read the piece, discuss Cartoon Analysis Guide and how the information applies to the political cartoons analyzed in the previous session.
• Pass out and explain the Political Cartoon Analysis Assignment that students will complete independently and the Political Cartoon Analysis Rubric , which outlines the expectations for the project.

If students will be working with cartoons from printed newspapers If students will be working with cartoons from online cartoon archives Explain what newspapers students can use and where the newspapers can be accessed. Explain what online sites and cartoonists students can use. Discuss how students can make copies of the cartoons that they will be studying (e.g., photocopies, scanning). Demonstrate how to save a copy of the image files or take a screen shot of the images. Emphasize the importance of backup copies, as well as copies to trim and use as illustrations for the guidelines. If students are working with scanned copies, talk about the save-as command (see right column). Emphasize the importance of backup file copies and paper copies of the images and how to use the Save-As command to ensure that students do not overwrite the original image files when creating illustrations.

• Discuss copyright and documentation issues, going over the importance of including complete citations for all cartoons that are used in the’ analysis guidelines that students write.
• Point to the details on documenting cartoons in your class textbook, or use the details and examples from Comic Art in Scholarly Writing: A Citation Guide .
• If there are any guidelines that students should use while searching for their cartoons (e.g., topics that are inappropriate for the classroom), discuss these issues and explain what students should do if they happen upon such materials accidentally.
• Pass out additional copies of the Political Cartoon Analysis Assignment and copies of the Political Cartoon Comparison Sheet for students to use as they analyze the work of the cartoonists that they have chosen.
• Give students the remainder of the class session to find and begin analyzing cartoons.
• Draw the class together with approximately five minutes remaining, and invite students to share any observations they have made so far. If students are hesitant to share, ask some leading questions about the techniques that political cartoonists use. For instance, “which design and layout techniques seem most relevant to the cartoons that you have found?”---because most political cartoons today are only one panel, gutter and splash panels are irrelevant. However students can still look for use of borders and open panels in these works.

Session Three

• Review the Political Cartoon Analysis Assignment and Rubric . Answer any questions that students have about the project.
• Allow students to work independently on their analysis during the session.
• Provide mini-lessons as needed on analytical (e.g., how to determine the difference between close-up and extreme close-up) and/or technical topics (e.g., how to insert an image file in a Microsoft Word file).
• Ask students to have a complete draft of their guidelines and copies of their political cartoons for peer review during the next class session. Students can continue work on their guidelines for homework if necessary.

Session Four

• Explain that since the class will be doing peer review of one another’s guidelines, students will exchange one cartoon and the guidelines. Each student will read the guidelines and consider how well those details help them analyze the cartoon. After this process, students will complete the questions on the Political Cartoon Analysis Peer Review . This process may be slightly different from the typical peer review that the class completes, so ensure that students understand the process before students exchange their work.
• Organize the exchange of cartoons and guidelines, and ask students to use the guidelines to analyze the cartoon. If desired, students can take notes on their analysis to return to the author of the guidelines as well.
• As students complete their reading and analysis, give them copies of the Political Cartoon Analysis Peer Review . Students can complete this process at their own pace, picking up the peer review form once their analysis is complete.
• Circulate through the classroom as students work, providing support and feedback.
• As students complete their peer review sheets, have them return the guidelines to the author. Students can work on their own revisions until the entire class has completed the peer review process.
• Once the class has completed peer review, draw attention to the relationship between the questions on the Peer Review form and the Rubric . Point to the underlined words on questions 2 through 5 and their connection to the headings on the Rubric .
• Answer any questions that students have about revising their guidelines, and allow students to work on their revisions during any remaining class time.
• Ask students to have polished copies of their guidelines and the cartoons ready to submit at the beginning of the next session.
• If desired, ask students to choose at least one cartoon to discuss and share with other in class.

Session Five (optional)

• Arrange students in small groups.
• Ask each student to share at least one cartoon and describe the techniques that the cartoonist uses.
• Circulate among students as they work, providing support and feedback.
• Ask each group to choose one cartoon to share with the whole class.
• Gather students together and ask each group to present their choice.
• Encourage students to compare the techniques that the different cartoonists use.
• If time allows, students can complete a final proofreading of their guidelines, or have students exchange papers and proofread each other’s work. Ask students to make any corrections.
• Collect the guidelines and related cartoons.
• Rather than focusing on political cartoons, complete a similar exploration and analysis of graphic novels or comic strips.
• For an in-depth study of a particular political cartoon and its historical and geographical context, complete the ReadWriteThink lesson plan Analyzing the Purpose and Meaning of Political Cartoons or the ArtsEdge lesson plan Drawing Political Cartoons .

Student Assessment / Reflections

Review the work that students complete during this lesson on an on-going basis for the thoroughness and completeness. While students are working on these projects, talk to the students and observe their work and the connections they make to the political cartoons. Grade polished drafts with the Political Cartoon Analysis Rubric .

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Election Day is held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

This resolution discusses that understanding the new media and using them constructively and creatively actually requires developing a new form of literacy and new critical abilities "in reading, listening, viewing, and thinking."

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Standard: Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.

Maryland College and Career Ready English Language Arts Standards

Standard: Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.

Common Core State Standards English Language Arts

Cluster: Craft and Structure.

Checklist for Political Cartoons Assignment

Political cartoons, argument in political cartoons.

This lesson involves students exploring political cartoons and analyzing the argument being made.  Students will work in groups to build skills, then they will get an assignment to practice the skill on their own.

The teacher can choose to make this activity an in-person discussion or an online one.  In either case, it may be helpful to begin with small groups, then expand to the whole class discussion so that more students have an opportunity to answer.

Here are some answers to the discussion questions:

Also known as an “editorial cartoon” (b/c it is traditionally found next to the editorial)

Gives the artist’s opinion on a current issue

Uses hyperbole (exaggeration), satire to draw attention to an issue

Attempts to persuade people to agree with an opinion

Often has well-known people, trends, or issues

Artists use techniques to persuade the viewer to agree with their point of view

What do you know about political cartoons?  What are they? What is their purpose? Where are they found?  What are they about?  What techniques do the cartoonists use?

Brainstorm a list of answers to these questions as a class.

Have students work with a partner and note their answers to the questions in the lesson.  When groups are finished, you can save some time and repetition by having certain groups discuss the first cartoon, others discuss the second, and still others discuss the third.

Be sure to give groups feedback about how accurately they responded.  In addition, make sure students explain their responses thoroughly so that you can tell when they are ready to do the independent practice on the next page.

Studying political cartoons is a great way to begin to think about visual arguments.  These cartoons are making an argument.  Look at the three cartoons in the attachment and, with a partner, analyze that argument by answering these questions.

• What ‘action’ is happening?
• What people, objects, or things are in the cartoon?
• What symbols are being used?
• What is the tone? (positive, negative)
• Does it show a ‘kind of globalization’? (social, political, economic, cultural, technological)
• What is the overall message and do you agree with it? Explain.

When you and your partner are finished, you will be sharing your responses with the class.

This assignment works well as a formative assessment that will tell you if students are ready to write a rhetorical analysis of a visual argument or if they need additional practice before they can write a formal paper.   

Use the attached checklist to assess whether students are ready to move on to the next lesson.  Items should only be checked off if the student has responded accurately and completely.  Students can be asked to resubmit their work if it does not meet the teacher's requirements.

The list of discussion questions was taken from this website:   Source

Now that you have practiced and received feedback, your assignment is to find a political cartoon of your own to analyze.  Copy the picture into a document and answer each of the questions.  Cite your source using the method your teacher assigns.

Questions for Analysis:

Version History

Handout A: Political Cartoon Analysis

Directions:

Use Handout B: Analyze a Cartoon Worksheet to study one of the two political cartoons provided. Then you will work with others to compare and contrast the two cartoons.

“The Age of Brass: Or the Triumphs of Women’s Rights,” Currier & Ives, 1869

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

“I wonder if it’s really becoming?” Suffrage Cartoon

New York Press, New York City, New York, n.d. Photograph. See Library of Congress Teacher Resources.

Module 10: Westward Expansion (1800-1860)

Reading political cartoons, learning objectives.

• Identify the different components of a political cartoon

Part One: Analyzing Visual Components

A political cartoon, a type of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist’s opinion. They typically combine artistic skill, hyperbole, and satire in order to question authority and draw attention to corruption, political violence, or other social ills.

First, we will walk through a political cartoon analysis together.

Worked Example, Southern Ideas of Liberty:

The political cartoon below was published around 1835 by an anonymous author, possibly in Boston. It is a response to the tarring, feathering, and lynching of anti-slavery activists in several southern states. Around 1835, several slave states passed resolutions calling for the North to suppress abolitionist activities and societies, as they were a threat to the slave-labor economy of the South. The image is titled “Southern Ideas of Liberty.”

Figure 1 . 1835 political cartoon titled “Southern Ideas of Liberty.”

In the image, a judge with ass’s ears and a whip, seated on bales of cotton and tobacco with the Constitution underfoot, condemns a White man (an abolitionist) to hanging. The prisoner is roughly dragged by two captors toward a crowd of jubilant men who surround a gallows. In the distance, a cauldron of tar boils over an open fire.

The text below the image reads:

Sentence passed upon one for supporting that clause of our Declaration viz. All men are born free & equal. “Strip him to the skin! give him a coat of Tar & Feathers!! Hang him by the neck, between the Heavens and the Earth!!! as a beacon to warn the Northern Fanatics of their danger!!!!” [1]

What to Look For

The visual components of a political cartoon are the ones you can see in the image. They speak to artistic choice, symbolism, and realism vs. fantasy. What visual elements do you see in the political cartoon above? As you read through the list below, look at the image and think about how each visual element was carefully chosen by the artist to send a message or evoke an emotion.

Who are the people depicted in the cartoon? Are they real historical individuals or are they symbolic of a larger group or movement? Where are the characters in relation to each other?

Often, animals are used in political cartoons in place of people or institutions (like the snake in Ben Franklin’s cartoon on the previous page) – do you see any animals or humans who have been given animal or animal-like features? What are some common traits or characteristics assigned to that animal? What might be the historical context of the animal being used?

Buildings or Furniture

Do you see any buildings in the image? What type of building is it? Is it standing or crumbling? Is there any furniture in the image like a throne, a chair, a table, a carpet, etc? Is it luxurious furniture or is it rough? What might be the purpose of including certain types of furniture?

Look for any other objects in the image like ladders, trees, household items, boats, trains, etc. What do you think they represent? Is it a direct representation or a symbolic representation? How is it being used and by whom?

Do you see any logos, insignias, flags, shapes, or other symbols? What group or person are they connected to? Where are they in the image in relationship to the other visual components? Are they being used to label another component?

Style Choices

This section pertains more to how the artist drew the visual elements, rather than what they drew. Look for elements like exaggeration of features or objects, irony in the way people or objects are depicted in relationship to one another (irony is defined as “a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects”), or the use of analogy comparing a complex situation or issue to a simple one in order to make it easier to understand (i.e., comparing a presidential election to a horse race).

As you can see, analyzing a political cartoon is not always cut and dry. Sometimes, one element can fall into multiple categories or be from different perspectives. Much of this analysis is “could be,” since we do not know what the author’s actual intention was when the cartoon was created. We can only speculate based on what we see and what we know. The following Practice Questions will test your ability to analyze the visual components of a different cartoon.

Answer the questions below based on the cartoon above.

Visual Components

• “Grand Presidential Sweepstakes for 1849.”
• “An Available Candidate.”
• “Cock of the Walk.”
• Figures – who are the people depicted in the cartoon? Are they real historical individuals or are they symbolic of a larger group or movement? Where are the characters in relationship to each other?
• Animals – often, animals are used in political cartoons in place of people or institutions (like the snake in Ben Franklin’s cartoon above) – do you see any animals or humans who have been given animal or animal-like features? What are some common traits or characteristics assigned to that animal? What might be the historical context of the animal being used?
• Buildings and/or Furniture – do you see any buildings in the image? What type of buildings is it? Is it standing or crumbling? Is there any furniture in the image like a throne, a chair, a table, a carpet, etc? Is it luxurious furniture or is it rough? What might be the purpose of including certain types of furniture?
• Objects – look for any other objects in the image like ladders, trees, household items, boats, trains, etc. What do you think they represent? Is it a direct representation or a symbolic representation? How is it being used and by whom?
• Symbols – do you see any logos, insignias, flags, shapes, or other symbols? What group or person are they connected to? Where are they in the image in relationship to the other visual components? Are they being used to label another component?
• Style Choices – this is more about how the artist drew the visual elements, rather than what they drew. Look for elements like exaggeration of features or objects, irony in the way people or objects are depicted in relationship to one another (irony is defined as “a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects”), or the use of analogy, comparing a complex situation or issue to a simple one in order to make it easier to understand (i.e., comparing a presidential election to a horse race).

Part Two: Analyzing Creative Components

The creative components refer to things about the cartoon that you cannot see in the image: the author, the purpose or agenda, the audience, the ideology, and the context. Looking at our example from above (“Southern Ideas of Liberty”), we can run through the creative components for our analysis:

Who was the author/artist? What did they do for a living? What were their political or social beliefs and associations? (i.e., were they a Whig or a Democrat? Abolitionist? Wealthy or working class?)

Purpose/Agenda

Was the piece created to help support or to speak out against a person, institution, or organization? Was it meant to make a logical argument or a more emotional appeal to the audience? What was the author’s agenda in creating the cartoon?

Who is the audience that this piece is targeting? What do you think is the gender, race, socioeconomic status, nationality, and education level of the target audience?

What basic ideals is the cartoon supporting or speaking out against? (i.e., freedom, independence, courage, self-reliance, immorality, dishonesty, greed)

Figure out where and when the cartoon was first published. What type of historical context was the cartoon printed in? What else was going on at the time that could have had an influence on the content of this particular cartoon or on its author or audience? Think about social, cultural, political, economic and military events, even natural disasters or climate events. All of these would have informed the context of the political cartoon you are analyzing.

Out of these five elements, the Purpose or Agenda and the Context are the most important for understanding political cartoons. The purpose or agenda of the cartoon is the most important because it shows what issues were important to people at the time of its creation. If you go to the Library of Congress website and select a decade on the left-hand menu, you can scroll through the cartoons and see which topics have the most material. This can be a good measure of which issues, people, or events were being frequently discussed during that time period.

Context is important because political cartoons are essentially a form of propaganda, which is a medium that is difficult to understand outside of its own time period. For example, many people in the modern era are required to read Virgil’s Iliad in school as an example of Classical literature, but few realize that it was actually written as a propaganda piece to boost the image of the Emperor. Nearly anyone who read the Iliad at the time it was written would be able to recognize it as propaganda because of the literary features, language, and subject matter. Context is sort of like an inside joke, where you “had to be there” to get it. Since we cannot be back in history, our context has to be taken from what we know about the time period from other sources.

Creative Components

You will now analyze the creative components of your own political cartoon which you chose in the activity above. Instead of doing an analysis of all five, you will focus only on the two most important ones mentioned in the paragraph above: Purpose/Agenda and Context .

Using the visual components of your cartoon as supporting evidence, write two brief paragraphs (3-5 sentences) describing the Purpose and Context of your cartoon. This is an open-ended exercise, but you can use the spaces below to jot down your ideas.

• HarpWeek, American Political Prints, 1766-1876. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://loc.harpweek.com/LCPoliticalCartoons/DisplayCartoonLarge.asp?MaxID=42&UniqueID=42&Year=1835&YearMark=1830 ↵
• Reading Political Cartoons. Authored by : Lillian Wills for Lumen Learning. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Political Cartoon. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_cartoon . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• A Society of Patriotic Ladies at Edenton in North Carolina Interactive. Authored by : Dr. Christy Jo Snider. Located at : https://sites.berry.edu/csnider/resources/patriotic-ladies/ . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Southern Ideas of Liberty Political Cartoon. Provided by : Library of Congress. Located at : https://loc.harpweek.com/LCPoliticalCartoons/DisplayCartoonLarge.asp?MaxID=42&UniqueID=42&Year=1835&YearMark=1830 . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright

Legislative Branch

Constitution Scavenger Hunt with Political Cartoons

In this lesson, students will analyze 16 political cartoons drawn by Clifford and Jim Berryman during the early to mid-20th century. They will search through the Constitution and associate each cartoon with a specific clause. Through networking exercises, students will analyze all 16 cartoons and read the entire Constitution. They will learn about the outline and structure of the Constitution, as well as the content of many of its clauses.

Understanding the Constitution is a vital element of the study of U.S. History and American government. Additionally, studying political cartoons allows students to enhance the social studies skills of understanding, applying, analyzing, and evaluating information.

Guiding Question

How are the provisions of the U.S. Constitution visually represented in popular media?

16 Political Cartoon Facsimiles

The Constitution of the United States: A Transcript

2 Worksheets

Answer Key for Worksheet 2

Recommended Grade Levels

Grades 7-12

U.S. History; U.S. Government; Civics

Topics included in this lesson

Articles of the U.S. Constitution, Congressional Powers, Congressional Rules and Procedures, Congressional Leadership, Legislative Process, the Electoral College, Presidential Power/Authority, the Supreme Court, and the Amendment Process

Featured Documents

The Center for Legislative Archives maintains approximately 2,400 original pen-and-ink drawings by cartoonists Clifford K. Berryman and his son, Jim Berryman, in the U.S. Senate Collection.

Clifford and Jim Berryman were among Washington's best-known and most-admired graphic political commentators from 1898 to 1965. Clifford K. Berryman drew for the Washington Post from 1890 until 1907, and then for the Evening Star from 1907 until his death in 1949. His son, Jim, joined the Evening Star in 1935 and drew for the paper until his retirement in 1965, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1950. Berryman cartoons touched on a variety of subjects including politics, Presidential and congressional elections, both World Wars, and even Washington weather.

Time Required

Approximately 60 minutes

Learning Activities

1. Outline of the U.S. Constitution (5 minutes)

Note: Students new to the study of the Constitution may begin by completing step 1 of the lesson Teaching Six Big Ideas in the Constitution .

Direct students to work individually to annotate the transcript of the Constitution by labeling each of the seven articles of the Constitution with a statement of its main topic.

Conduct a class discussion of how the Constitution is organized and how its articles are subdivided.

2. Cartoon Analysis Worksheet and Identification of the Constitutional Principle and Clause (15 minutes)

Divide the students into two or three large groups (depending on class size) and distribute a set of the 16 political cartoon facsimiles to each large group. Every student in the group should be given enough cartoons so that all 16 are assigned, ( e.g. , each member of a group of 8 students should receive 2 political cartoons).

Direct students to complete Worksheet 1 individually by analyzing each of the political cartoons assigned to him or her. Note: The worksheet is differentiated to provide three levels of analysis dependent on the student’s skill.

When students have completed Worksheet 1, direct them to complete columns 1–3 of Worksheet 2 individually. Students should analyze their assigned cartoon(s) to complete columns 1 through 3. Students should then study each assigned cartoon and a transcript of the Constitution to complete column 4 individually. Column 5 will be completed in the next activity.

3. Use Networks to Discuss the Cartoons and the Constitution (30 minutes)

Direct each student to form a three-person group by joining with two partners from their group assigned in activity 2.

Allow approximately 5–7 minutes for the members of the new three-student groups to show each other their assigned cartoon(s) and share their answers in columns 1–4 of Worksheet 2. Groups should discuss and record (using additional rows of Worksheet 2) each member’s application of the cartoon to the Constitution and reach a consensus about the best match of each cartoon to a clause. Direct the students to use column 5 of Worksheet 2 at the end of the discussion to record any changes in interpretation that strengthen the match of each cartoon to the Constitution.

Once the first 5–7 minutes are up, instruct the students to find two new partners from their larger group and repeat the process. Direct the students to continue to form new three-person groupings until all 16 cartoons have been discussed.

Direct each student to circle the entry in column 5 that they feel is the best match for each cartoon they have discussed. Use the answer key to check their work.

4. Reflection (10 minutes)

Conduct a class discussion about the Constitution and the role of political cartoons in American civil life. Discussion points may include:

• What does the relationship of the number cartoons in this lesson to articles of the Constitution suggest about the articles’ relative importance to the artists or the public at the time the cartoon was created? Was one branch of government of more interest or importance to the artists or their audience than the others? Would the Framers agree with this division of interest? Would this same division of interest be appropriate for a cartoonist drawing today?
• How clearly do the cartoons represent the main idea of the constitutional clause each reflects? How does the portrayal of the clause in a political cartoon correspond to its phrasing in the Constitution? To what extent might viewers today agree or disagree with Berryman’s portrayal of these clauses?
• What clues were you able to use in each cartoon to associate it with a specific clause in the Constitution?
• Based on these examples, why are political cartoons important? What function or purpose do they serve in civic life?

5. Extend the Lesson

Assign students to study the following constitutional principles, and create, or identify through research, political cartoons depicting the principle as it applies to current issues and events:

• Impeachment (Article 1, section 2, clause 5; Article 1, section 3, clause7; Article 2, section 4)
• Congressional Immunities and Privileges (Article 1, section 6)
• The Necessary and Proper Clause/Elastic Clause (Article 1, section 8, clause 18)
• The Supremacy Clause (Article 6, section 1, clause 2)

Additional Political Cartoons Resources:

Congress Represented in Political Cartoons

Reviewing Big Civics Ideas through Political Cartoons

Find more Berryman cartoons in the Center for Legislative Archives in the exhibit " Running for Office ."

Return to Lesson Plans

If you have problems viewing this page, please contact  [email protected] .

Political Cartoon Analysis Assignment - Current Events, Civics, Government, Fun!

Description

Works for any political cartoon! Students develop writing skills and their ability to critically evaluate while learning about current events, inferencing, and government. Students simply choose any political cartoon and complete a variety of analysis tasks: identify themes, and prominent messages as well as critiquing the overall quality of the cartoon. Creatively designed and proven to work! Paperless version is now provided in addition to printable version!

BONUS POLITICAL CARTOON CREATION PROJECT NOW INCLUDED!

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Biden thanks Kenya’s Ruto for sending police to Haiti and defends keeping US forces from the mission

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday expressed deep appreciation to Kenyan President William Ruto for the coming deployment of Kenyan police forces to help quell gang violence in Haiti and he defended his decision to withhold American forces from the mission in the beleaguered Caribbean nation.

The United States has agreed to contribute $300 million to a multinational force that will include 1,000 Kenyan police officers, but Biden argued that an American troop presence in Haiti would raise “all kinds of questions that can easily be misrepresented.”

The Democrat came into office in 2021 pledging to end U.S. involvement in so-called endless wars in the aftermath of 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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“Haiti is in an area of the Caribbean that is a very volatile,” Biden said at a news conference with Ruto, who was in Washington for the first state visit to the U.S. by an African leader since 2008. “There’s a lot going on in this hemisphere. So we’re in a situation where we want to do all we can without us looking like America once again is stepping over and deciding this is what must be done.”

Ruto, who will be honored by Biden with a state dinner on the White House grounds in the evening, also gave a climate policy address and met with former President Barack Obama.

Ruto is facing legal challenges in Nairobi over the decision to commit Kenyan forces to a conflict thousands of miles from home when his own country has no shortage of economic and security challenges. He said that Kenya, as a democracy, has a duty to help.

“Kenya believes that the responsibility of peace and security anywhere in the world, including in Haiti, is the collective responsibility of all nations and all people who believe in freedom, self-determination, democracy and justice," Ruto said. "And it is the reason why Kenya took up this responsibility.”

Some analysts say his move could run afoul of a Kenyan High Court ruling in January that found the deployment unconstitutional because of a lack of reciprocal agreements between Kenya and Haiti. A deal was signed in March, before Ariel Henry resigned as Haiti’s prime minister, to try to salvage the plan.

Kenya's moving ahead “gives the impression that the country is lawless and does not believe in the rule of law," said Macharia Munene, an international relations professor at United States International University-Africa.

A difficult assignment is ahead for the Kenyan officers.

Haiti has endured poverty, political instability and natural disasters for decades. International intervention in Haiti has a complicated history. A U.N.-approved stabilization mission to Haiti that started in June 2004 was marred by a sexual abuse scandal and the introduction of cholera, which killed nearly 10,000 people. The mission ended in October 2017.

Biden and Ruto also called on economies around the globe to take action to reduce the enormous debt burden crushing Kenya and other developing nations.

The call to action, termed the Nairobi-Washington Vision, comes as Biden presses his appeal to African nations that the U.S. can be a better partner than economic rival China. Beijing has been deepening its investment on the continent — often with high-interest loans and other difficult financing terms.

Biden and Ruto want creditor nations to reduce financing barriers for developing nations that have been constrained by high debt burdens. They also called on international financial institutions to coordinate debt relief and support through multilateral banks and institutions providing better financing terms.

The White House announced $250 million in grants for the International Development Association, part of the World Bank, to assist poor countries facing crises.

Separately, a $1.2 trillion government funding bill passed by Congress in March allows the U.S. to lend up to $21 billion to an International Monetary Fund trust that provides zero-interest loans to support low-income countries.

“Too many nations are forced to make a choice between development and debt, between investing in their people and paying back their creditors," Biden said.

An Associated Press analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China — including Kenya — found the debt is consuming an ever-greater amount of tax revenue needed to keep schools open, provide electricity and pay for food and fuel.

Behind the scenes is China’s reluctance to forgive debt and its extreme secrecy about how much money it has loaned and on what terms, which has kept other major lenders from stepping in to help.

Kenya’s debt-to-GDP ratio tops 70%, with the bulk of it owed to China. Credit ratings agency Fitch estimates the Kenya will spend almost one-third of its government revenues just on interest payments this year.

The Biden administration has praised Kenya for stepping up in Haiti when so few other countries have agreed to do so. Biden also announced his intention to designate Kenya as a major non-NATO ally, an acknowledgment of the growing security partnership between the countries.

The designation, while largely symbolic, reflects how Kenya has grown from a regional partner that has long cooperated with U.S. counterterrorism operations on the continent to a major global influence — even extending its reach into the Western Hemisphere. Kenya will be the first sub-Saharan African country to receive the status.

Ruto arrived in Washington on Wednesday and began the visit by meeting with Biden and tech executives from Silicon Valley and Kenya’s growing tech sector.

The White House announced it was working with Congress to make Kenya the first country in Africa to benefit from funding through the CHIPS and Science Act, a 2022 law that aims to reinvigorate the computer chip sector within the United States through tens of billions of dollars in targeted government support.

“I think we have a historic moment to explore investment opportunities between Kenya and the United States,” Ruto said.

Despite the optimistic outlook, Kenya has seen a sharp decline in foreign investment since 2017. Net investment for foreign companies has fallen from $1.35 billion in 2017 to $394 million in 2022, according to the World Bank.

Associated Press writers Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, and Josh Boak and Sagar Meghani contributed to this report.