ANF in the Press

The narrative of elections in Africa is typically one of the negative stereotypes that portray the continent as chaotic and illegitimate. Africa No Filter and fraycollege conducted research on how the story of elections in Africa is told. Through focus groups with senior journalists and content analysis of over 800 online articles from different African countries, we found that the words most commonly used when reporting on elections were corruption, violence, ethnic tension, unengaged youths, and fraud. The report was covered by print and online platforms across Africa, including Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Whether you are African or a foreigner, Africa has experiences that should be on your bucket list, according to Moky Makura, Executive Director at Africa No Filter, and a founder at bird story agency. As she points out, the continent is also pulling out the stops to make its tourism world-class.

Global news coverage today plays an influential role in perpetuating negative, stereotypical perceptions about Africa. Narratives around poverty, disease, conflict, poor leadership, and corruption, in particular, are to blame, noted Abimbola Ogundairo, advocacy and campaigns lead at Africa No Filter. “There are still lazy stereotypical stories about Africa floating around. These stories lead to narratives [that] impact people,” she said.

The Global Media Index for Africa assesses and ranks *online news stories of CNN, Deutsche Welle, Russia Today, Bloomberg, Xinhua, Le Monde, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, The Economist, New York Times, VOA News, AFP, Reuters, BBC, CGTN, Financial Times, RFI, and The Washington Post. The report was covered by outlets in countries that include Cameroon, Congo, DRC Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and on Pan-African news websites.

What’s it like being an African youth in the diaspora? According to the new Being African: How Africans Experience the Diaspora report, diasporic African youths experience different types of discrimination — exoticization in France, microaggressions in the UK, and surveillance and profiling in the US. It was published in platforms that include Ventures Africa, Tech Cabal, Abuja Online, Africa Briefing, Nairobi Monthly and 24 Cameroun. The report was also covered in DRC, Congo, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Reunion Island.

Some people love musicals. I am not a fan (there, I said it!). That’s why I rarely pay attention to notices about new ones in the making. That changed last week when I saw the announcement for a musical at the Old Vic about the 1985 Live Aid concert, which raised money for the devastating famine in Ethiopia. It made me sit up and take a deep, slow breath.

That narrative is what a new breed of local media created by young Nigerians hopes to counter by getting away from the stereotypes they say are too often perpetuated by the foreign press.

From setting Guinness World Records to turning plastic into high fashion—or creating personal AI chatbots—young Africans are showing their agency and urgency.