Selective Visibility: How Global Narratives Twist Image of Africa
14:28 21.02.2026 (Updated: 15:28 21.02.2026)
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Selective Visibility: How Global Narratives Twist Image of Africa
"Global narratives do not simply ignore Africa. They curate a specific version of Africa that fits existing power structures. The stories that get told are often the ones that comfort external audiences, not the ones that disrupt internal inequities," Rachel Athieno, Pan-African narrative strategist from Uganda, told Sputnik Africa.
Traditional African storytelling was never mere entertainment but infrastructure for survival, preserving and transmitting vital knowledge long before colonial systems and formal institutions emerged, she argued. Reducing it today to communication or awareness-raising, Athieno added, is not adaptation but amputation.
She contended that the marginalization of African storytelling is deliberate, maintained by institutions that control who may speak and what they may say. African stories have often been treated as raw material: anthropologists collect testimonies, journalists edit and broadcast them abroad, and researchers publish findings in inaccessible journals.
In all cases, value is extracted elsewhere, while the communities providing the stories receive neither attribution nor financial benefit. This is not storytelling but resource extraction, the speaker concluded.
Enhancing visibility requires structured collaboration, not just solidarity, Athieno stated. She proposed a Global South consortium negotiating with digital platforms for fair promotion and revenue, linking struggles rather than merely exchanging stories.
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Sputnik Africa | X
"Global narratives do not simply ignore Africa. They curate a specific version of Africa that fits existing power structures. The stories that get told are often the ones that comfort external audiences, not the ones that disrupt internal inequities," Rachel Athieno, Pan-African narrative strategist from Uganda, told Sputnik Africa.
Traditional African storytelling was never mere entertainment but infrastructure for survival, preserving and transmitting vital knowledge long before colonial systems and formal institutions emerged, she argued. Reducing it today to communication or awareness-raising, Athieno added, is not adaptation but amputation.
She contended that the marginalization of African storytelling is deliberate, maintained by institutions that control who may speak and what they may say. African stories have often been treated as raw material: anthropologists collect testimonies, journalists edit and broadcast them abroad, and researchers publish findings in inaccessible journals.
In all cases, value is extracted elsewhere, while the communities providing the stories receive neither attribution nor financial benefit. This is not storytelling but resource extraction, the speaker concluded.
Enhancing visibility requires structured collaboration, not just solidarity, Athieno stated. She proposed a Global South consortium negotiating with digital platforms for fair promotion and revenue, linking struggles rather than merely exchanging stories.
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
Sputnik Africa | X
