African media coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war differs starkly from the narrative in European news, according to NAI guest researcher Charlotte Ntulume.
“I have gone through nearly 400 news articles so far, and not one of them clearly condemns Russia as responsible for the war”, she says.

During her two months’ research leave from the Department of Journalism and Communication at Makerere University in Uganda, Ntulume will research how some of the most influential newspapers in Africa cover the war.

In the African press, few articles on the war go into politics, much less Russia’s role in the conflict. Instead, most of them describe economic consequences of the war that affect African countries; for instance, shortages of fertilisers and other agricultural inputs, the scarcity of grain due to reduced imports, and spikes in the prices of oil and natural gas.

“Some articles bring up the need for peace talks to end the fighting, but in general the sentiment in African newspapers is something like, ‘This is not our conflict, but it affects our economy. We hope it will end soon, but if it doesn’t it is not really our concern’”.

“If one reads newspapers in Europe, one gets a very different picture of the war”, Ntulume points out.

Media coverage in Africa of the Russia-Ukraine war is perhaps not that different from how many African countries have taken a non-aligned position in United Nations (UN) resolutions regarding the war.

One month after the invasion, 28 of the 54 African states voted to condemn Russia — 17 abstained, eight did not participate and one voted against. A month later, in April 2022, another UN resolution called for Russia’s suspension from the Human Rights Council, which received even less support from African nations.

In October 2022, however, a UN resolution reaffirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity had broader African backing — 54 percent of African countries supported it, without any votes against. “The increased support was likely influenced by the emphasis on a peaceful conflict resolution, which differed from the previous ones”, Ntulume notes.

According to Ntulume, there are several possible explanations for African countries’ reluctance to condemn Russia. One is historic and goes all the way back to the Cold War, when the Eastern bloc supported many of the continent’s liberation movements. Also, more recently, in the years before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia courted African countries through diplomacy, trade and — not least — military support.

“However, Russia’s involvement in Africa is not only about selling arms. A large number of the articles l have read are about African students being stranded in Russia during the war. It says something about Russia’s significance for the education of African people and shows an interest in social progress on the continent”, Ntulume says.

A lot of research has been conducted on how Western media portray Africa, often pinpointing the fact that only major catastrophes reach the headlines. In academic literature, however, very few articles deal with how media in African countries describe events in the West. “I hope my research can contribute to some balance in that aspect”, Ntulume concludes.

TEXT: Johan Sävström