"SCHLEPPNETZ / TRAWL - Social Media and the Almost True Facts" - by schauraum: comic+cartoon / City of Dortmund / Germany: Feb 4 - Apr 15, 2025 - active 24/7 on a display window screen. The collection of 50 cartoons presents the ideas of 32 artists from 18 nations on freedom of expression and censorship in the world of social media channels. They shed light on the role of the individual in the midst of global social, political and cultural debates as well as in the reserve of very private groups. The works from around the world also deal with dating and the gathering of loyal followers by influencers who have turned their activities into a profitable business or are just constantly on the hunt for their self-affirmation - simply for fame. The artists examine the concept of truth as the basis of a message and they expose strategies of manipulation and propaganda for a wide variety of purposes. They deal with the phenomena of fake news, alternative facts and deepfakes which are demagogically influencing public opinion, but are also resulting in hate speech posts and shitstorms - and the possible consequences. Today, the big tech giants dominate the news market with their social media channels and an audience of billions. Like in a perpetual motion machine, they have their "products", the content, created by their users themselves in the form of endless postings in order to collect the data of all participants and monetize it. The business model benefits both sides, the users in the mostly free receipt and distribution of information of all kinds, as a never-ending source of entertainment, as an instrument of a culture of debate and argument, to satisfy a need for communication, for self-expression, for observing others, as a marketplace or as a way to attract attention in order to become "rich and famous" with suitable content. For their part, the benefits for the platform operators lie primarily in the distribution of paid advertising, in paid subscription or premium offers, in direct customer acquisition for third-party providers for a fee, and in shares of user revenues. News of any kind can be true or untrue - but in the second case it can no longer be considered news. A news item must be verifiably based on indisputable facts, which is why news are editorially checked in the traditional sense (fact check). However, social media platforms are increasingly abandoning this control. This results in another exciting projection surface for the international cartoon artists in the virtual exhibition, with a wide range of satirical and subtle interpretations. Their drawn results appeal to an audience, most of whom are of course also active on social media channels on a daily basis...
Thanks to the artists presented in our virtual exhibition: Tjeerd Royaards: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Tjeerd%20Royaards_1949 Fussel: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/fussel_1273 Ian D. Marsden: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/ian%20david%20marsden_500 Damien Glez: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Damien%20Glez_4319 Lo Graf von Blickensdorf: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Lo%20Graf%20von%20Blickensdorf_153579 Matthias Kringe: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Kringe_16655 Jan Rieckhoff: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Jan%20Rieckhoff_107930 Joruju Piroshiki: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/joruju%20piroshiki_1053 Gregg from GriDD: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Gregg%20from%20GriDD_6504 Gergely Bacsa: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/bacsa_625 Horacio Petre: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/PETRE_28518 Menekşe Çam: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/menekse%20cam_1581 Miguel Morales: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/miguelmorales_177256 Markus Grolik: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/markus-grolik_10807 Mark Lynch: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/toons_589 Arcadio Esquivel: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Cartoonarcadio_27740 Enrico Bertuccioli: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Enrico%20Bertuccioli_178869 ZACH: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/cartoonistzach_165730 Christiane Pfohlmann: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Pfohlmann_636 Sebastian Valbuena: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Valbuena_101665 Jaime Mercado: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/JAMEScartoons_19519 LAP: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/LAP_3107 Til Mette: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Til%20Mette_195160 Jon Carter: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/cartertoons_4265 Svetlin Stefanov: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Svetlin%20Stefanov_16323 Ed Hall: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/halltoons_718 Carlos Amorim: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Amorim_123252 Harm Bengen: Harm Bengen: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Harm%20Bengen_463 Koppelredder: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Koppelredder_171579 Rebecca Meyer: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Rebecca-Meyer_196271 Birgit Dodenhoff: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Dodenhoff%20Cartoons_67997 Creative Jones: https://www.toonpool.com/artists/creative%20jones_1153