Same old story? African disease stereotypes persist in Covid-19 media coverage
Africa No Filter (2022), iii, 23 pp.
Contains 6 tables
Series: Academic Fellows Report
"1. Western media speculated about negative Covid-19 African outcomes: The media analysed in this study used words like “could”, “will almost certainly”, “will turn into” to prophesy doom for the continent, especially expressing doubt that the hospital infrastructure on the continent could cope.
2. The portrayal of Africa as diseased persisted: Global media had reported that Africa would be worst hit and expressed surprise that Africa did not reach the record high death rates that occurred in Western countries. Journalists were at pains to make sense of this “mystery”, for example, suggesting the low numbers were due to Africans being afraid to go to hospital.
3. Many development agencies also used negative stereotypes: Many publications from development agencies focused on barriers to the response to the epidemic in Africa, such as widespread poverty, lack of education, poor infrastructure, and irregular power supply. They further lamented a low test per case ratio and portrayed the continent as a charity case. Fears were also expressed about socio-economic impacts of Covid-19, such as job losses, economic contraction, and recession.
4. African media focused on government handling of the pandemic: African media mainly highlighted the African governments' agency in dealing with Covid-19. Some articles also reported on the mishandling of Covid-19 funds. However, within countries, different news sources sometimes reported differently, for example, in Zimbabwe, NewsDay typically
reported on poor governance and corruption, while The Herald reported positively on actions being taken in the country.
5. African media chastised Africans about their behaviour: Many of the African media houses portrayed Africans as quarantine violators and fugitives who were breaching Covid-19 regulations and infecting family members, thereby spreading the virus.
6. Western media continued to represent Africa as a single entity: Just as with global coverage of Ebola and HIV/AIDS, the Western media outlets we studied continued to report on Africa as a homogenous entity and did not give attention to how Covid-19 was impacting differently in different countries – albeit that it gave some attention to South Africa,
where death rates were high." (Key insights, page iii)
2. The portrayal of Africa as diseased persisted: Global media had reported that Africa would be worst hit and expressed surprise that Africa did not reach the record high death rates that occurred in Western countries. Journalists were at pains to make sense of this “mystery”, for example, suggesting the low numbers were due to Africans being afraid to go to hospital.
3. Many development agencies also used negative stereotypes: Many publications from development agencies focused on barriers to the response to the epidemic in Africa, such as widespread poverty, lack of education, poor infrastructure, and irregular power supply. They further lamented a low test per case ratio and portrayed the continent as a charity case. Fears were also expressed about socio-economic impacts of Covid-19, such as job losses, economic contraction, and recession.
4. African media focused on government handling of the pandemic: African media mainly highlighted the African governments' agency in dealing with Covid-19. Some articles also reported on the mishandling of Covid-19 funds. However, within countries, different news sources sometimes reported differently, for example, in Zimbabwe, NewsDay typically
reported on poor governance and corruption, while The Herald reported positively on actions being taken in the country.
5. African media chastised Africans about their behaviour: Many of the African media houses portrayed Africans as quarantine violators and fugitives who were breaching Covid-19 regulations and infecting family members, thereby spreading the virus.
6. Western media continued to represent Africa as a single entity: Just as with global coverage of Ebola and HIV/AIDS, the Western media outlets we studied continued to report on Africa as a homogenous entity and did not give attention to how Covid-19 was impacting differently in different countries – albeit that it gave some attention to South Africa,
where death rates were high." (Key insights, page iii)
