On the Coloniality of News Mobilities and How the World Knows About What Happens in Francophone Africa

Abstract

The coloniality of the global news industry and its centrality in knowledge production about the Global South remains under-examined. This is especially true in the case of news production about Black Francophone Africa (by which I refer to sub-Saharan Francophone countries formerly colonised by France), which continues to receive limited attention in the academic study of politics in Africa. By posing the question, 'How do we know about what happens in Francophone Africa?' this paper sheds light on the coloniality of production and circulation of news deemed credible about Francophone Africa. It interrogates the implications for knowledge production about this space in African Studies and International Politics.