Invisible faces and silent voices in media representations of the climate crisis
This is an opinion article written by Carlota Houart, on October 6, 2020, for Alice News. The text proposes a critical reflection on how the mainstream media can shape dominant perceptions of the climate crisis and the people and groups involved in global climate conversations.
“In January 2020, Associated Press published a photo of four young European climate activists at the World Economic Forum in Davos. A wave of indignation ensued, quickly prompting the news agency to correct its piece, when a shocking revelation was made: the original photo was not of four, but of five girls standing side by side. Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate was cropped out of the photo, and no mention of her could be found in the text that came with it. The most striking difference between Nakate and the other girls? She is African, and black”.
