Hype and western values are shaping AI reporting in Africa: what needs to change

📅 Published: August 19, 2025

📰 Source: theconversation

Curated by AllZimNews.com

Consequently, the way African news media represent and frame AI carries weight in shaping broader public discourse.

To explore how African media report on AI, we, as media researchers, analysed 724 news articles about AI from 26 English-speaking African countries.

These were published between 1 June 2022 and 31 December 2023.

We looked at how these publications contributed to the hype about AI – exaggerated excitement, inflated expectations, and often sensationalised claims about what artificial intelligence can do.

Hype is often contrasted with the notion of something called an AI winter.

This is a period of diminished interest and investment in AI technologies.

It’s a cyclical trend that has been seen since AI’s inception in the 1950s.

It manifests in exaggerated language, overly optimistic or pessimistic views and significant investments in AI.

Our study examined how AI was portrayed in African news media – whether it was exaggerated or overly optimistic.

Media portrayal can influence policy, investment and public acceptance of new technologies.

For example, in Germany it was found that positive media coverage of different fuels changed public perception in a positive way.

Our findings show a clear pattern in placement and authorship of articles.