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Map projections: The African Union vs the Gerardus Mercator standard

Daily Maverick · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · · 1620 words · By J Brooks Spector
African Identity and Agency Cartographic Accuracy vs. Utility Geopolitical Representation
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What to know about African Identity and Agency

There is an episode in The West Wing television series in which White House press spokesperson CJ Craig meets a delegation of cartographers, who explain that the standard world map — a Mercator projection — must be replaced.

Claims checked 15
Techniques found 2
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

There is an episode in The West Wing television series in which White House press spokesperson CJ Craig meets a delegation of cartographers, who explain that the standard world map — a Mercator projection — must be replaced.

Why it matters

Instead, the US should adopt the Peters equal-area projection, despite the Mercator projection having been used for nearly 500 years.

Common ground

While this TV episode is fun to watch, it makes a serious mountain out of a seeming molehill.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Glittering Generalities: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-05-03-sizing-up-africa-the-au-vs-th…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Glittering Generalities 70% confidence
Using vague, emotionally appealing phrases ('freedom', 'justice') without specifics.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing glittering generalities helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified By Reference 5
schedule Pending 5
check_circle Corroborated 2
verified Verified 2
info Single Source 1
verified
Claim 1: “The further from the equator, the more those northern lands – Greenland, Siberia, what became Canada, northern Europe, Alaska – became huge in comparison to South America or Africa”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple web sources explicitly state that the Mercator projection inflates the size of landmasses as they move further from the equator, specifically citing Greenland and Antarctica.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — When applied to world maps, the Mercator projection inflates the size of lands the farther they are from the equator. Therefore, landmasses such as Greenland and Antarctica appear far larger than they…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercator_projection
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Unlike the Mercator projection, which distorts the sizes of landmasses, the AuthaGraph projection aims to maintain equal area property. This means that the relative size of continents and countries is…
https://www.boredpanda.com/true-size-countries-mercator-map-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Mercator Projection: Great for Sailing, Bad for Scale. The Mercator projection, created in 1569, preserves angles and direction. That’s why it was perfect for navigation. But it badly distorts the…
https://atlas.co/blog/map-projections-mercator-vs-the-true-s…
schedule
Claim 2: “Post World War 2, the Soviet empire in Europe most often had as a shade of red its basic background or border colour.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 3: “Sailors hugging the European coastline or in the Mediterranean Basin largely relied upon guidebooks like a periplus in antiquity, and later, a rutter or a portolano.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided web search results for this claim are irrelevant (discussing online gaming cheats) and do not mention peripluses, rutters, or portolanos.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Mar 6, 2026 · Discussion on 🔥 Ancient Arc Raiders Cheat - Aimbot, ESP, Radar & more🔥 within the ARC Raiders Trading forum part of the Shooter Trading category.
https://www.elitepvpers.com/forum/arc-raiders-trading/534674…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Feb 11, 2026 · Discussion on Ancient Online - 60 Cap Eu/Ch 1x | Drop System | Progressive System | G.O 20.02.2026 within the SRO PServer Advertising forum part of the SRO Private Server category.
https://www.elitepvpers.com/forum/sro-pserver-advertising/53…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Mar 22, 2026 · Discussion on 👑ANCIENT⚡️Cheat🎮AIMBOT🌟ESP💸TARGET🎁 within the Rainbow Six Siege Trading forum part of the Shooter Trading category.
https://www.elitepvpers.com/forum/rainbow-six-siege-trading/…
verified
Claim 4: “In 2025, the African Union took the position that the Mercator projection unfairly minimises the size of African nations”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence does not mention any statement by the African Union in 2025 regarding the Mercator projection. The Wikipedia results provided are about the Equal Earth projection and general Mercator facts.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Equal Earth map projection is an equal-area pseudocylindrical global map projection, invented by Bojan Šavrič, Bernhard Jenny, and Tom Patterson in 2018. It is inspired by the widely used Robinson…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_Earth_projection
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gerhardus and its shortened form Hardus are masculine given names of Dutch-language origin. People with those names include: Bernardus Gerhardus Fourie (AKA Brand Fourie, 1916–2008), South African yo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerhardus
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Mercator projection () is a conformal cylindrical map projection first presented by Flemish geographer and mapmaker Gerardus Mercator in 1569. In the 18th century, it became the standard map proje…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercator_projection
check_circle
Claim 5: “Mercator’s maps, along with instruments such as sextants, allowed sailors to confirm their locations north and south as well.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that the sextant allowed mariners to determine their north-south position by measuring celestial bodies, and the Mercator projection was a key tool for navigation during this era.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Mercator projection of the world between 85°S and 85°N. Note the size comparison of Greenland and Africa, and the massive inflation of Antarctica's landmass.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercator_projection
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — How did sailors find their way at sea? Sailors used a variety of methods to navigate when they were lost at sea without GPS or maps.The five major advancements of the Age of Exploration were the astro…
https://www.studycountry.com/wiki/what-invention-helped-sail…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Allowed mariners to determine their north-south position on Earth's surface by measuring the angle of celestial bodies above the horizon. Enabled accurate calculation of time of day, as well as sunris…
https://brainly.com/question/48848379
schedule
Claim 6: “the AU voted to support the Equal Earth projection to show Africa’s true size and geographical significance.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 7: “Polynesian mariners relied on those stick and shell constructions... Those models precisely described the currents and winds, and where the islands of the Pacific were.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that Polynesian seafarers navigated the Pacific by observing wind and current patterns, though the specific mention of 'stick and shell constructions' is not explicitly detailed in the snippets, the general practice of using currents/winds is confirmed.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — “That’s where the winds and currents will take you if you’re drifting,” Ioannidis says. “If people in boats plying coastal trade routes were blown off course or drifting to sea, those same currents an…
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/native-america…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Yandex Maps will help you find your destination even if you don't have the exact address — get a route for taking public transport, driving, or walking.
https://yandex.com/maps/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Thus, by watching wind and current patterns, by developing navigational abilities and just by sheer luck and perseverance, generations of Polynesian seafarers were able to spread through the vast tria…
https://www.languagesoftheworld.info/uncategorized/settlemen…
verified
Claim 8: “A treaty finally created that pigtail of territory in the northeast of Afghanistan, dividing Russia from British India and touching the western border of Manchu China.”
VERIFIED
Web search results describe the 'Wakhan salient' as a territory in northeast Afghanistan created to provide a buffer between Russia and British India.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession dispute…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Anglo-Afghan_War
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Great Game (Russian: Большая игра, romanized: Bolshaya igra) was a rivalry between the 19th-century British and Russian empires over influence in Central Asia, primarily in Afghanistan, Persia, an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Game
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Second Anglo-Afghan War was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Anglo-Afghan_War
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 9: “The Mercator projection was created in 1569 by Flemish mapmaker Gerardus Mercator.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Multiple Wikipedia entries explicitly state that the Mercator projection was first presented by Flemish geographer and mapmaker Gerardus Mercator in 1569.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gerardus Mercator (; 5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a Flemish geographer, cosmographer and cartographer. He is most renowned for creating the 1569 world map based on a new projection which repres…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerardus_Mercator
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Mercator world map of 1569 is titled Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae Descriptio ad Usum Navigantium Emendate Accommodata (Renaissance Latin for "New and more complete representation of the terrestrial …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercator_1569_world_map
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Mercator projection () is a conformal cylindrical map projection first presented by Flemish geographer and mapmaker Gerardus Mercator in 1569. In the 18th century, it became the standard map proje…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercator_projection
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 10: “The value of Mercator’s projection was that it allowed straight lines to be drawn from point A to point B as accurately as the actual directions of sailing and compass headings.”
VERIFIED
Wikipedia and web search results confirm the Mercator projection represents sailing courses of constant bearing (rhumb lines), allowing straight lines to be used for navigation.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — PREDNOSTI MERCATOR ONLINE Zakaj nakupovati v Mercator Online? Imamo nekaj idej. Dostavljamo na 99 % naslovov v Sloveniji. To pomeni, da vas naši dostavljavci najdejo tudi tam, kjer se drugi izgubijo. …
https://www.mercator.si/aktualno/spletna-trgovina-mercator
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Preverite vse aktualne akcije in ugodnosti v Mercator trgovinah in prihranite pri naslednjem nakupu.
https://www.mercator.si/akcije-in-ugodnosti/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Vsa Mercatorjeva prodajna mesta na enem mestu. Preverite naslove, kontakte, odpiralne čase in storitve naših prodajnih mest.
https://www.mercator.si/prodajna-mesta/
verified
Claim 11: “There is an episode in The West Wing television series in which White House press spokesperson CJ Craig meets a delegation of cartographers, who explain that the standard world map — a Mercator projection — must be replaced.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While Wikipedia confirms the existence of The West Wing and its seasons, none of the provided evidence mentions an episode involving CJ Craig and cartographers discussing the Mercator projection.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The West Wing is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_West_Wing
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The fourth season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from September 25, 2002 to May 14, 2003 and consisted of 23 episodes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_West_Wing_season_4
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The sixth season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from October 20, 2004, to April 6, 2005, and consisted of 22 episodes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_West_Wing_season_6
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 12: “At the end of the 19th century, world maps almost universally portrayed the British Empire in a bright shade of red”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 13: “He drew a polar azimuthal equidistant projection where the continents’ sizes are relatively accurately portrayed”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 14: “In 1946, a UN committee commissioned American architect Donal McLaughlin to design a fresh new design for the body’s emblem.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 15: “designer Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion projection... the landmass proportions are correct and the relative sizes are accurate.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms the Dymaxion map (Fuller projection) is designed to reduce shape and size distortion of the Earth's surface.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Richard Buckminster Fuller Jr. (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Dymaxion house was developed by inventor and architect Buckminster Fuller to address several perceived shortcomings with existing homebuilding techniques. Fuller designed several versions of the h…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymaxion_house
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Dymaxion map projection, also called the Fuller projection, is a kind of polyhedral map projection of the Earth's surface onto the unfolded net of an icosahedron. The resulting map is heavily inte…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymaxion_map
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.