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War of words: China and the US battle it out for the loyalty of African hearts and minds
Rivalry between two global superpowers spills into the media as East meets West head-on in a clash of narratives to win over the continent
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The world’s two superpowers are waging an information war to influence the minds of Africa’s young and media-savvy demographic, with articles pitched by the United States and China designed to show each other in an unflattering light.
On March 31, Africa Defence Forum magazine, a publication of the US Army’s Africa Command, ran an article called: “China’s floating fish factories plunder Guinea Bissau’s resources”.
It detailed illegal operations by Chinese fishing trawlers in the West African country’s territorial waters, portraying the activities as part of a pattern of exploitation of African countries by China.
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Meanwhile, over on the website of China Global Television Network’s (CGTN) Africa service was the headline: “Mahama warns of global impact of US ‘erasure’ of Black history”.
It was a story about President John Mahama of Ghana condemning the US for trying to erase its record of enslavement and exploitation of people of African descent.
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Both headlines reflect the diverging approaches to the African story by the US and China media. In the rivalry between the world’s two biggest economies for access to Africa’s vital natural resources, there is also an expanding war of narratives aimed at winning African minds.
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