UN adopts major map reform to show true scale of continents

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AFP. (2026, September 4). UN adopts major map reform to show true scale of continents. Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/2027504/un-adopts-major-map-reform-to-show-true-scale-of-continents

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Dawn · collected 2026-09-04 · by AFP

Quick Summary

The UN General Assembly voted 164-0 (with 6 abstentions) to adopt a new map that makes Africa appear larger and shrinks North America and Europe. The resolution, led by several African countries, aims for a "more accurate representation" of world geography using the Equal Earth cartographic projection. According to cartographers, this new map preserves the relative surface areas of continents and shows their shapes more accurately on a globe. France's foreign minister announced that his country will abandon the traditional Mercator projection in favor of the Equal Earth map.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b 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).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

September 4th, 164 countries, including France and the UK, voted in favor of a resolution at the UN General Assembly to adopt a new world map that more accurately reflects the size of Africa. Only the US voted against it, with six other states abstaining. The new map, known as the Equal Earth cartographic projection, aims to provide a more accurate representation of continental landmasses and reduce distortions caused by the traditional Mercator projection, which has been widely used since the 16th century. According to Foreign Minister Robert Dussey of Togo, "a fair world begins with a fair map," highlighting the importance of cartography in shaping our understanding of the world. The resolution promotes the use of the Equal Earth projection over the Mercator projection, which distorts the relative size of land masses by expanding those nearer the poles, making Greenland appear roughly the same size as Africa, although Africa is about 14 times larger.

Written for “UN Adopts New World Map” on 2026-10-21, grounded in this article and the 24 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 UN Adopts New World Map
World · 25 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
National Post · 0.97 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 17 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles report on the same UN General Assembly vote adopting a new world map, with identical details and outcomes.”
The Straits Times · 0.95 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 19 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles report on the exact same UN General Assembly vote on September 4, 2026, with the same details and outcome.”
The Straits Times · 0.94 cosine similarity
⚖️ Centre 🔴 38% hedged 5 of 13 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles describe the exact same UN General Assembly vote on a resolution to adopt a new world map, with identical details about the vote's outcome and the map's characteristics.”
South China Morning Post · 0.92 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 6 📰 publisher trust 64
“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.”
Daily Mail · 0.89 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 23 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles report on the same UN General Assembly vote adopting a new map resolution, specifically the 'Equal Earth cartographic projection', with the same countries supporting and opposing it.”
The Guardian · 0.86 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 3% hedged 1 of 31 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles report on the exact same UN General Assembly session, date (September 4, 2026), and voting outcome.”
Times of India · 0.86 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 5% hedged 1 of 21 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe the UN General Assembly adopting a new map resolution with the same voting outcome on the same day.”
The Hindu · 0.86 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 17 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles report on the exact same U.N. resolution vote, on the same day (September 4, 2026), with identical outcomes and details.”
BBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 26 📰 publisher trust 69
“Both articles describe the exact same UN General Assembly vote on a resolution to adopt a new map that accurately reflects Africa's size, which occurred on September 4th, 2026.”
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 21 📰 publisher trust 68
“Both articles report on the same UN General Assembly vote, at the same time, to adopt a new map called Equal Earth cartographic projection”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
72/100
Dawn's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
25
World
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-04 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Dawn · 2026 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)

Who wrote this

AFP
649 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
Also by AFP
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 649 articles by AFP →

Topics

African France Mercator The United Nations General Assembly the United States

Subjects

France GPE · 2× the United States GPE · 2× AFP ORG · 1× African NORP · 1× Bojan Savric PERSON · 1× Flemish NORP · 1× Gerardus Mercator PERSON · 1× Robert Dussey PERSON · 1× The United Nations General Assembly ORG · 1× Togo GPE · 1×

Narrative

The new map — known as the Equal Earth cartographic projection — “offers a more accurate representation of the sizes of continental landmasses and to this end is a relevant option for improving the accuracy of the cartographic representation of the world,” the resolution says.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-04
🔮 The foreign ministry of France — which co-sponsored the resolution in support of the new map — announced Friday that it would abandon the Mercator projection.
2026-09-04 · Dawn
UN adopts major map reform to show true scale of continents · assertive framing

Claims (17 extracted, 0 hedged)

The United Nations General Assembly voted on Friday for a resolution spearheaded by several African countries to adopt a map that makes their continent bigger while shrinking North America and Europe — aiming at “a more accurate representation” of world geography. asserted
continent → vote → geography
The resolution was backed by 164 countries while the United States voted against it and six other states abstained. asserted
states → back → it
The new map — known as the Equal Earth cartographic projection — “offers a more accurate representation of the sizes of continental landmasses and to this end is a relevant option for improving the accuracy of the cartographic representation of the world,” the resolution says. 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
The foreign minister of Togo, which drove the resolution, said maps “shape our understanding of the world.” asserted
maps → drive → world
“They guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions. asserted
They → guide → 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,” Robert Dussey said at the UN. asserted
Dussey → present → UN
The Mercator projection focused on accurate depictions of the shapes and angles of land masses, but their relative sizes were often inaccurate — in part due to the challenge of rendering a three-dimensional globe onto a two-dimensional map. asserted
sizes → focus → map
It inflated northern regions and compressed equatorial ones, making Europe and North America appear much larger, while shrinking Africa and South America. asserted
Europe → inflate → Africa
A group of cartographers launched the Equal Earth projection in 2018. asserted
group → launch → 2018
It makes Africa, Latin America, South Asia and Oceania appear vastly larger. asserted
Africa → make → ?
“Equal Earth preserves the relative surface areas of continents and, as much as possible, shows their shapes as they appear on a globe,” one of the cartographers, Bojan Savric, told AFP in 2025. asserted
one → preserve → 2025
The foreign ministry of France — which co-sponsored the resolution in support of the new map — announced Friday that it would abandon the Mercator projection. asserted
it → co → projection
In that map, “the United States, Russia and China take on a disproportionate visual prominence compared to Africa, Latin America or southeast Asia,” while “Greenland appears almost as big as Africa,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said. asserted
Barrot → take → Africa
“Changing maps obviously doesn’t change the world,” he acknowledged. asserted
he → change → world
“But correcting a distorted representation is already an act of truth.” asserted
correcting → correct → truth
The initiative comes as France is seeking to improve relations with Africa, particularly in former colonies with which it has prickly ties. asserted
it → come → ties
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