Visual portrayal of Monkeypox outbreak on BBC: is Western media biased against Africa?

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, whether Western media portrays Africa 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.