The African Union (AU) has officially endorsed the “Correct The Map” campaign, advocating for the global adoption of the Equal Earth projection over the centuries-old Mercator map, which distorts the size of continents. The Mercator projection, designed in the 16th century for navigation, drastically exaggerates regions near the poles—like Greenland and North America—while shrinking large equatorial continents such as Africa and South America.
AU Commission deputy chair Selma Malika Haddadi emphasized that the distortion in the Mercator map creates a misleading narrative of African marginality, despite the continent being the world’s second-largest both by area and population. She stated, “It might seem to be just a map, but in reality, it is not.” The campaign is spearheaded by advocacy groups Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa, whose leaders have described the Mercator map’s depiction as “the world’s longest misinformation and disinformation campaign” and a threat to African identity, especially among children.
Executive Director of Africa No Filter, Moky Makura, said, “The current size of the map of Africa is wrong. It’s the world’s longest misinformation and disinformation campaign, and it just simply has to stop.”
Speak Up Africa’s co-founder, Fara Ndiaye, reiterated the negative impact the Mercator map had on Africa. She said, “We’re actively working on promoting a curriculum where the Equal Earth projection will be the main standard across all [African] classrooms.”
The AU plans to promote Equal Earth across member-state classrooms and urge global institutions—including the United Nations and the World Bank—to phase out Mercator maps. The campaign is aligned with wider efforts to reclaim Africa’s place in global narratives and address enduring colonial legacies.
