Facts and Lies about Africa: A Matter of Life and Death
Univ of Westminster, Boardroom
Wed Oct 19, 2016, 6pm-8pm (followed by a reception)
309 Regent St (1st floor)
Registration:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/facts-and-lies-about-africa-a-matter-of-life-and-death-tickets-27605997281
https://www.westminster.ac.uk/events/facts-and-lies-about-africa-a-matter-of-life-and-death
On 19 October, Africa Check and the Africa Media Centre will debate the
continued distortion and misrepresentation of Africa in public debate
and the media. The event is hosted by Westminster Institute for Advanced
Studies (WIAS) and the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI)
Peter Cunliffe-Jones, founder of Africa Check, will present a paper
focusing on his organisation and the impact its work has had so far. Dr
Winston Mano, Director of the Africa Media Centre, will analyse reasons
why Africa is misrepresented, its impact on the continent and methods
with which researchers can help overcome the problem.
All across the length and breadth of Africa, from South Africa to
Senegal, people make decisions, big and small, every day. To do this,
they have to rely on the best information that is publicly available.
But often the information about Africa in the mainstream media, public
discussions and social media is partial, misleading or just plain wrong.
Misleading claims about minority populations, replayed in the
traditional and social media, have led to everything from xenophobic
attacks in South Africa in 2015 to the Rwandan genocide of 1994. False
media reports into health problems, such as polio, and supposed cures
for diseases from HIV/AIDS to Ebola, have caused unnecessary sickness
and death across the continent.
|