What’s Next?

Friday's Editorial Cartoon   —   Posted on May 4, 2020

Question(s)

1. Cartoonists often use humor to illustrate a news item. What recent news item is cartoonist Al Goodwyn illustrating in this cartoon?

2. A cartoonist often uses humor to illustrate a news item. What comic device does the cartoonist use to illustrate this news story? Explain your answer.
a) caricature
b) personification
c) symbol
d) understatement
e) hyperbole

3. Info about murder hornets from the Washington State Department of Agriculture and Washington State University, as reported by Mashable:

• Asian giant hornets (murder hornets) are the largest species of hornet in the world. (They are 1.5 inches to more than 2 inches long.)
• Not only are Asian giant hornet stingers long enough to sting through normal beekeeper suits, getting stung by one of these hornets will cause excruciating pain.
• They can kill humans, but it's rare: If people are allergic to the venom of Asian giant hornets or are stung by multiple hornets, it can be fatal. About 50 people are killed by the giant hornets each year in Japan, according to the Times.
• The hornets are territorial and will be aggressive when something gets close to their nest but are not as aggressive far away from their homes.
• Murder hornets kill entire bee colonies. This is the reason why they are referred to as murder hornets. [They threaten honey bee hives and the concern is that they could decimate the honeybee population.]
• Murder hornets are not invincible: Not only can humans do a lot to get rid of these pests, sometimes honeybees can outnumber these giant killers, and a bunch of honeybees will completely cover the murder hornets and kill them.
• Wikipedia notes: the hornet is native to temperate and tropical East Asia, South Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, parts of the Russian Far East, though it is most common in rural areas of Japan. CNN reports it is not known how they arrived in the U.S.

The anchor of a CBS News report on the hornets said they “have a venomous sting that can kill someone if they are stung several times”

An AccuWeather headline reads: Terrifying 'murder hornets' invade US

Fear-mongering is defined as: The action of deliberately arousing public fear or alarm about a particular issue. Do you think the above are examples of the media using fear-mongering? Explain your answer.