We are all accountable for the stories we tell, even more so when we tell other people's stories.

What is astrsc?

The Africa Stereotype Scanner (ASTRSC) is a tool that scans text for linguistic elements that often contribute to stereotypes about Africa.

The Africa Stereotype Scanner (ASTRSC) is a tool that scans text for linguistic elements that often contribute to stereotypes about Africa.

ASTRSC does not clearly tell you what to do. It certainly does not guarantee that your article is stereotype-free. If the story you have to write is about conflict or famine, ASTRSC will not change this overall framing. Still, it may help you make this story more considerate of the humanity of the people you are writing about. Stereotypes add insult to injury. Plus, they are not creative. ASTRSC allows you to pick up on some of these before publishing!

So go ahead, try it, see your writing through a new lens, and learn more about the history of stereotypes and media coverage of Africa!

Scroll below and click the button to start!

*Disclaimer: ASTRSC does not replace critical thinking or a good editor!

WHO IS ASTRSC FOR?

Stereotypes often creep in because of ignorance and unconscious biases. We primarily designed ASTRSC for journalists, particularly for journalists writing African news stories for the first time and journalists in training. ASTRSC is an opportunity for them to reflect on their writing practices and accountability while learning about key debates surrounding stereotyping and media representations of Africa.

But even seasoned journalists can find ASTRSC useful (yes, Jeffrey Gettleman, we are looking at you). Several recent studies on international journalists in Africa (here, here and here) found that many professionals are aware of these issues of negative representations of Africa, and wish to see coverage of Africa improve in quantity and quality. But stereotypes can also creep into the writing of experienced journalists, particularly when the urgency of news production leaves little time to second-guess all your linguistic choices. That's why ASTRSC is simple and quick: for these more experienced-but-hurried journalists, ASTRSC will be a sort of annoying-yet-constructive poke: "are you sure, you mean Africa here and not East Africa, or perhaps just Tanzania?"; "you mentioned tribes; it might be relevant to you story, but did you make sure to contextualize this properly?" We hope it will encourage them to think reflexively about their writing and positionality. They may also learn a few interesting things from the latest research on Africa's media image. Ultimately, ASTRSC is for anyone involved in producing representations of Africa through written text and who cares about the impact of their writing. We see it being relevant to all journalists, foreign and local, operating in Africa, communication professionals more broadly - from PR experts and advertisers to NGO communication officers, bloggers and scholars (hello hello Maya Jasanof and Bruce Gilley !).

WHO'S BEHIND ASTRSC?

ASTRSC was started in the summer of 2017 at Stanford University's Center for African Studies by Toussaint Nothias and Zineb Oulmakki. The project, now hosted and developed in the Digital Civil Society Lab at Stanford University, is supported by an advisory board of writers, scholars, activists, and journalists tired of seeing the same old, dehumanizing stereotypes about Africa reproduced time and time again. Find out more about our team here

ASTRSC is still in development! For feedback or inquiries, please contact us