Cartographic Propaganda in the Age of Social Media: Empirical Evidence from Ethiopia

Abstract

Cartographic propaganda is a conscious manipulation of a map to influence the reader’s belief. Countries often use it to claim disputed territories or project fear over opposing nations or political alliances, but little is known about the manipulations of maps along internal sociolinguistic and political fault lines on social media platforms. The author investigated the nature and intent of propaganda maps in Ethiopia before and after the 2018 government reform based on six purposely sampled maps prominently circulated on social media. While falling short of the acceptable cartographic qualities, the analysis of sample propaganda maps revealed two fundamental characteristics during the pre- and post-government reform. First, their role shifted from a centripetal force in the political coalition to a centrifugal force in the coalition’s disintegration. Second, their mode of dissemination transitioned from cartographic misinformation to disinformation. The findings of this study contribute empirical evidence to the ongoing cartographic information discourse that lags behind the rapidly changing map-making and map-sharing platforms in the age of geospatial and social media revolutions.