caricaturer

To caricature — exaggerating someone's distinctive features or a position's weaknesses for comic or critical effect, whether in a drawn cartoon or in speech/writing (caricaturer un homme politique, caricaturer un débat). Carries an implication of deliberate distortion or oversimplification.

• Le dessinateur a caricaturé le président avec un nez immense. — The cartoonist caricatured the president with a huge nose.
• Elle caricature toujours ses adversaires dans ses articles. — She always caricatures her opponents in her articles.
• Il ne faut pas caricaturer ce débat en deux camps opposés. — This debate shouldn't be caricatured as two opposing camps.

Caricaturer implies deliberate exaggeration or distortion — it's stronger than simply décrire or représenter, and using it can itself sound like an accusation of unfairness.

• politics Charlie Hebdo — The French satirical weekly's practice of caricaturing political and religious figures, including the Prophet Muhammad, provoked the January 2015 Paris attack on its offices that killed 12 people, and remains central to French debates over free speech, satire, and blasphemy.