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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 by AI on 2026-09-04, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

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 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 24 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 UN Adopts New World Map
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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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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

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Dawn · 2715 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)

Who wrote this

AFP
956 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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2026-11-04 · assertive framing · Big money flops as Democrats sweep US Congress
🔮 With neither bloc holding a majority in the 120-seat parliament after the Oct 27 vote, Herzog said both sides needed to accept that “not every commitment and promise can be fulfilled” and to avoid new elections. “In the current reality, in which there is no clear winner after the elections, I ask for originality and creativity, courage and goodwill, so that the State of Israel emerges the winner,” Herzog said.
🔮 He has not yet formally declared that he will run.
🔮 “I know there will be many issues to address, and I will face whatever comes with the utmost respect.
🔮 Four oil tankers caught fire after hitting mines while attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran said on Wednesday (November 4, 2026), after it warned no one would benefit from a return to war.
🔮 Democrats seized control of the US Congress on Wednesday, capturing the Senate and House of Representatives in a stunning, nationwide rejection of Donald Trump set to put the brakes on the final two years of his presidency.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · Democrats win US Congress in midterm rout of Trump
🔮 “Those who still harbour even the slightest hope that the behaviour of the hegemonic system might change through partisan or factional shifts, or who imagine that making concessions to the United States can dissuade it from hostility towards the Iranian nation, are seriously mistaken,” Khamenei said in a written statement published on his website.
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Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
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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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