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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.