UN adopts new map: Africa bigger, North America and Europe smaller

News - South China Morning Post · collected 2026-09-04 · by Agence France-Presse
Read the original at News - South China Morning Post ↗

Summary

The UN General Assembly voted 164-1 on Friday, with six abstentions, to adopt a new map called the Equal Earth cartographic projection. The resolution, spearheaded by African countries, makes Africa appear larger while shrinking North America and Europe compared to the traditional Mercator map. This shift is aimed at achieving "a more accurate representation" of continental landmasses, according to the resolution. US Foreign Minister Robert Dussey of Togo, who led the effort, emphasized that maps can influence collective perceptions and perpetuate inaccurate representations if they are distorted.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-04, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
6
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
0%
0 of 6 hedged
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject
Publisher trust
94.5
red-flag proxy, not a credibility rating
Outlets on this story
11
World
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-09-04 · how these are computed

AI analysis (generated at analysis time, not now)

Story summary

On September 4, the United Nations General Assembly voted to adopt a new world map that more accurately reflects the size of Africa and other continents. The resolution, sponsored by several African countries, including Togo, passed with the support of 164 countries and was opposed only by the United States. The old Mercator projection map had been widely used since the 16th century but had been criticized for distorting the relative size of land masses, making Africa appear smaller than it is. The new Equal Earth cartographic projection more accurately portrays the size of continents, with Africa appearing 14 times larger than Greenland. While the UN resolution is non-binding, it is expected to lead to changes in the maps used by institutions around the world, including schools and technology companies. Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said that maps "guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions" and that a fair map is essential for a fair world.

Written for “UN Adopts New World Map” on 2026-09-05, grounded in this article and the 10 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Score -0.35 Confidence high
Leaning score -0.35 for article 4007 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-04

Story

📰 UN Adopts New World Map
World · 11 article(s) covering the same event.

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
National Post · 0.95 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 17 📰 publisher trust 96
“Both articles describe the exact same UN General Assembly vote on September 4, 2026, with the same resolution outcome and voting details.”
Just In · 0.94 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 21 📰 publisher trust 96
“Both articles report on the exact same resolution vote with the same date, time, number of countries in favor, abstainers, and the US vote against it.”
The Straits Times World News · 0.94 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 19 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles report on the same vote by the UN General Assembly to adopt a new map, with the US as the only opposing nation, on the exact same date and time.”
Dawn - Home · 0.92 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 17 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles report on the exact same vote by the UN General Assembly on the adoption of a new map, with identical details and timing.”
The Straits Times World News · 0.90 cosine similarity
⚖️ Centre further right than this 🔴 38% hedged 5 of 13 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles report on the UN General Assembly voting on a resolution to adopt a new map, with similar details about the vote and the characteristics of the new map.”
World News, Today World News, Latest International News, World Breaking News, Trending News of World - Times of India · 0.90 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 5% hedged 1 of 21 📰 publisher trust 94
“Both articles describe the exact same UN General Assembly vote on a resolution to adopt a new world map, with the same outcome and participation of countries”
World news | The Guardian · 0.89 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 3% hedged 1 of 31 📰 publisher trust 93
“Both articles report on the same UN General Assembly session, same resolution, and same vote count with identical specifics”
World News Today: International News Headlines - The Hindu | The Hindu · 0.86 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 17 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles report on the exact same vote by the UN General Assembly on September 4, 2026, adopting a new map that makes Africa bigger and North America and Europe smaller.”
Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News · 0.86 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 26 📰 publisher trust 97
“Both articles report on the UN's vote to adopt a new map, with Africa being made bigger and North America and Europe smaller, on September 4, 2026.”
The Straits Times World News · 0.85 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 18 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles report on the UN General Assembly voting in favor of a resolution to adopt a new map that makes Africa bigger and North America/Europe smaller, on the same date (September 4, 2026) and at the same location (New York).”

Publisher

News - South China Morning Post · 124 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
SignalValueWeight
Correction rate 0.000 0.4
Uncertainty density 0.110 0.25
Assertive mismatch rate 0.000 0.35
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Agence France-Presse
13 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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All 13 articles by Agence France-Presse →

Topics

African Flemish Mercator The United Nations General Assembly Togo

Subjects

African NORP · 1× Flemish NORP · 1× Gerardus Mercator PERSON · 1× Robert Dussey PERSON · 1× The United Nations General Assembly ORG · 1× Togo GPE · 1×

Narrative

The US was the only vote against the resolution for a shift to the Equal Earth cartographic projection over the traditional Mercator map The United Nations General Assembly voted on Friday to back a resolution spearheaded by several African countries to adopt a map that makes their continent bigger while shrinking North America and Europe.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-04
2026-09-04 · News - South China Morning Post
UN adopts new map: Africa bigger, North America and Europe smaller · assertive framing

Claims (6 extracted, 0 hedged)

UN adopts new map: Africa bigger, North America and Europe smaller asserted
Africa → adopt → map
The US was the only vote against the resolution for a shift to the Equal Earth cartographic projection over the traditional Mercator map The United Nations General Assembly voted on Friday to back a resolution spearheaded by several African countries to adopt a map that makes their continent bigger while shrinking North America and Europe. asserted
continent → vote → America
Aimed at “a more accurate representation” of continental landmasses, the resolution was supported by 164 countries while the US voted against it and six other states abstained. asserted
states → aim → it
The new map – known as the Equal Earth cartographic projection – “is a relevant option for improving the accuracy of the cartographic representation of the world”, the resolution said. asserted
resolution → know → world
It urges member states to adopt the new map in place of the traditional Mercator projection, which was designed for maritime navigation by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. asserted
which → urge → 1569
Foreign Minister Robert Dussey of Togo, which drove the resolution, said maps “guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions”. “They are therefore never neutral, when they present a distorted image of our planet, they risk perpetuating inaccurate representation that are passed down through generation.” asserted
that → drive → generation
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