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THE SAME WORDS, PRINTED DIFFERENTLYSaturday 05 September 2026

3 outlets quote this line 3 different ways.

africanews.com: “Maps shape our understanding of the world,”; dw.com: “shape our understanding of the world.”; npr.org: “Maps shape our understanding of the world. They guide education, nourish the imagination…

As published

7 pages captured at the time, in each outlet's own typography. Open one to read the copy held outside the publisher's control.

africanews.com as published: UN General Assembly adopts new world map that shows Africa's true sizeafricanews.com2026-09-05 20:22:38bbc.co.uk as published: UN votes to adopt new world map to reflect Africa's true sizebbc.co.uk2026-09-05 20:22:38dailymail.com as published: United Nations adopt new world map that shows Africa much bigger and cuts size of UK and USdailymail.com2026-09-05 20:22:38dw.com as published: UN approves world map reflecting true size of Africadw.com2026-09-05 20:22:38france24.com as published: UN approves resolution in support of map that shows Africa's true sizefrance24.com2026-09-05 20:22:38npr.org as published: The U.N. backs a new world map showing Africa in its true relative sizenpr.org2026-09-05 20:22:38theguardian.com as published: UN votes to adopt new world map that shows Africa’s true scaletheguardian.com2026-09-05 20:17:42

Attributed to no one

Quoted verbatim from each outlet's own page. This site records what was published and who it was attributed to. It does not assess whether the claim is true.

bbc.co.uk

  • Critics say this leads to the development needs and potential for countries near the equator to be minimised.

named elsewhere in the same article: unnamed Critics

dailymail.com

  • Critics of the Mercator map, which was originally designed for sea travel and not general use, have long argued it reflects Western assumptions about the world by making Africa smaller.

named elsewhere in the same article: unnamed Critics

What this entry found

  • ONLY ONE OUTLET HAD THIS

    theguardian.com carried 5 details no other outlet reported.

    • The Equal Earth projection was designed in 2018
    • The US representative said the resolution was 'superfluous'
    • The outcome is expected to result in updates to classroom curriculums and everyday technology
    • Togo spearheaded the campaign on behalf of the African Union
    • The resolution was passed on a session at UN headquarters in New York
7independent outlets
What happened, for context

The UN General Assembly voted on Friday to adopt a resolution encouraging the use of the Equal Earth map projection in place of the traditional Mercator projection, which distorts Africa's size. The vote passed 164 to 1, with the United States voting against it and six countries abstaining. The resolution is non-binding and does not ban the Mercator map.

6 of 7 articles were readable. Headline only, no body text retrieved, for: france24.com. Nothing below is drawn from those outlets beyond their headline.

Who reported it

  • africanews.comUNCLASSIFIED
  • bbc.co.ukPUBLIC
  • dailymail.comINDEP
  • dw.comPUBLIC
  • france24.comPUBLIC
  • npr.orgPUBLIC
  • theguardian.comINDEP

References

Carried by multiple outlets

  • UN General Assembly voted on a resolution to adopt a new map projection on Fridayafricanews.com, bbc.co.uk, dailymail.com, dw.com, npr.org, theguardian.com
  • The resolution was sponsored or introduced by Togoafricanews.com, bbc.co.uk, dw.com, npr.org, theguardian.com
  • The resolution was backed by the African Unionafricanews.com, bbc.co.uk, npr.org
  • 164 countries voted in favour of the resolutionafricanews.com, bbc.co.uk, dw.com, npr.org, theguardian.com
  • The United States was the only country to vote against the resolutionafricanews.com, bbc.co.uk, dw.com, npr.org, theguardian.com
  • Six countries abstainedafricanews.com, bbc.co.uk, dw.com, npr.org, theguardian.com
  • and 11 more, not shown

Reported by one outlet only

  • The resolution is called the 'Correct the Map' resolutiononly bbc.co.uk, npr.org
  • The campaign against cartographic distortion is referred to as 'cartographic colonialism'only dailymail.com
  • The Mercator map was originally designed for sea travel and not general useonly dailymail.com
  • The Equal Earth projection was designed in 2018only theguardian.com
  • The US representative said the resolution was 'superfluous'only theguardian.com
  • The outcome is expected to result in updates to classroom curriculums and everyday technologyonly theguardian.com

Reported unevenly

  • Whether the Equal Earth projection was designed/created in 2018 or is otherwise datedstated by theguardian.com · absent from africanews.com, bbc.co.uk, dailymail.com, dw.com, npr.org
  • The extent to which critics say Mercator map distortion leads to minimized development perceptionsstated by bbc.co.uk · absent from africanews.com, dailymail.com, dw.com, npr.org, theguardian.com