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The portrayal of Africa in the media has been a subject of critical scholarly inquiry, reflecting concerns over persistent stereotypes, imbalances in coverage, and the broader implications for global perceptions of the continent. This systematic review examines Africa’s image and media coverage from 2004 to 2024. A total of 64 articles were selected from EbscoHost, Google Scholar, Primo, ProQuest, and Scopus databases. Findings reveal regional imbalances in research contributions, with Africa leading, driven by South Africa, but with limited outputs from Central, North, and West Africa. North America and Europe show considerable engagement, contrasting with Asia’s minimal contributions despite significant socio-economic ties with Africa, and a notable absence of research from South America. The analysis of publishers and journals underscores the interdisciplinary nature of research on Africa’s media coverage, with Taylor & Francis and Sage dominating the field. Negative portrayals such as disease, death, famine, civil wars, and corruption dominate the studies, perpetuating stereotypes, while positive and neutral portrayals remain limited. The recommendations include fostering inclusive and sensitive reporting, peace journalism and encouraging a culture of tolerance and mutual respect across the continent. This study underscores the need for exploring barriers to South American participation in Africa-related research.
Serwornoo et al. (2025) studied this question.