The Role of Western Media in Shaping the Perception of Russia by the Population of West Africa

Asia and Africa today. 2025. No. 8. P. 31–38.

Зинг М. Й., Shishkina A.

This study is aimed at assessing the role of Western media in shaping the perception of Russia by the population of West Africa. The study employed qualitative research methods. The study leveraged the data collected during the field work on the image of Russia in Africa for three years (2020–2023). Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data gathered through the expert interviews. The thematic analysis was supported by verbal quotations from the expert interviews. The key and ground-breaking finding of this study is that there is a positive relationship between the role of Western media reporting on Russia and its influence in shaping the perception of West Africa about Russia, showing that the more the reportage of Russia by Western media, the more the likelihood of resulting to a positive image about Russia. Other key findings include the fact that USSR support and current Russia political, economic and military support in West Africa has a positive influence on people’s perception of Russia. It is, therefore, imperative for Russia to strengthen and improve its relationship with Africa beyond just the military cooperation to mutually beneficial economic and infrastructural cooperation in order to maintain a long-term positive image in Africa.

Keywords: Россия, Russia, восприятие, образ, image, perception, Западная Африка, Western media, West Africa, западные медиа

Publication based on the results of: State Resilience and National Security of Russia in the Context of the World Order Transformation (2025)