Visual portrayal of Monkeypox outbreak on BBC: is Western media biased against Africa?
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Date
2024
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Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication © Emerald Publishing Limited
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to examine the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) portrayal of the May
2022 Monkeypox outbreak in the West. The Monkeypox outbreak and the outcry from African journalists on
some Western media outlets’ use of black people to portray the Monkeypox outbreak informed the present
study to investigate, through empirical evidence, whetherWesternmedia portraysAfrica negatively.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper opted for the content analysis method. The news
recordings from BBC News analysed for this study were archived videos on Monkeypox retrieved from Blob
of Broadcast, an on-demand audio and video streaming service in the UK.
Findings – Findings indicated that videos were the most used visuals by the BBC to depict the Monkeypox
outbreak in the observed period. Findings also revealed that Black was the prevalent skin tone used in
depicting those affected by the outbreak, while White was the prevalent skin tone used in depicting the
scientists interviewed for their expert knowledge and at the forefront of the Monkeypox outbreak.
Practical implications – The paper includes implications for Western media outlets on how to portray
Africa and its people.
Originality/value – This paper fulfils an identified need to investigate how Africa is portrayed in Western
media through empirical evidence.