A hard-hitting opinion piece by Kenyan Journalist and BBC Africa Business Editor Larry Madowo criticizing the western media on how they choose to cover Africa has become a subject of discussion in the online community.
In Madowo’s piece titled ““Africa is doing just fine – it’s the coverage by Western media that is behind the times,” he blasted the Western media houses for depicting Africa Africa as a continent plagued with war, famine and other calamities.
He further highlighted some of the positives including having one of the fastest internet connectivity, technology like mobile money transactions, and ban on plastics among other things.
“It is easy to caricature Africa and define it narrowly using its wars, famine, and disease, but that is lazy and misguided. Nobody reduces the whole of Europe to just homelessness, racism, and massive inequality so why should Africa be so easily dismissed?” read part of his article.
He added: “There is an entire generation of African innovators, doers and trailblazers tackling some of the world’s most intractable challenges using homegrown solutions.”
The piece which has since become a subject of discussion has received mixed reactions from netizens with the majority standing with the journalist for taking a bold step in bashing western media in which he works for to highlight Africa’s problems.
It’s good you work for Western media. In doing so, you set the trend for proper balanced reporting, and teach them how to do it. Well done @LarryMadowo. A wonderful perspective.
— Purity Wanjohi (@PuritySunshynne) July 26, 2019
Criticizing their platforms for their portrayal of the African socio-political and economic sojourn using the said platforms should be a new level of brave.
— Sam Owaka (@ossure) July 26, 2019
Great piece @LarryMadowo. I laughed at Mark’s thought that sending money should be easy like sending a picture. That has been a reality in Kenya for over a decade
— sammie (@sammie_sammiez) July 26, 2019
Myself I have been living here in the USA Houston for a year and I can tell you this so called developed or world super power has its fair share of problems from corruption, racism, unfairness and the list is long but what they portray out there for the rest of us to see is tot
— njiruedward41@gmail.com (@njiruedward41) July 26, 2019
A section of other netizens faulted his piece with some arguing that his article was unbalanced and that it is unappropriated of him to generalize Africa’s problems or compare it with the Western countries as Africa is still a growing country.
I liked your piece, but I wondered whether your piece was balanced. I agreed with his comment about Rwanda & Mpesa. There is a reason why there is a huge economic refugee crisis. His delivery was bad and he failed to realise Africa is still young & progressing.
— Julie (@Jujus_odyssey) July 26, 2019
Not sure if you selected the headline. Either way isn’t the generalization of the state of Africa in general (due to localized positive developments) a double standard. If someone says or writes something negative about Africa in general isn’t our reaction apoplectic.
— Alex Kuria (@alexkuria) July 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/dlknowles/status/1154388400356626432?s=20
https://twitter.com/dlknowles/status/1154393381348528128?s=20