Neocolonial Framing of Developing and Developed Countries’ Attitudes Toward COVID-19 in The Guardian and Al-Jazeera Newspapers

In December 2019, a variant of Coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China. So relentless was the virus in its fecundity that on the 11th of March 2020, it was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). “COVID-19” as the disease came to be known, initially highlighted and heightened social inequalities as information about the detection of the virus, prescriptions and proscriptions as well as resources for dealing with the pandemic were beyond the reach of many people. In developing countries, lack of information resulted in misinformation and disinformation, dissemination of inaccurate information unconsciously, and deliberately, respectively, which militated against efforts to fight the disease. Developing countries accused developed countries of treating them as breeding grounds for the virus, undermining their participation in COVID-19 discourse and profiteering at their expense during the pandemic. Many governments and bodies like WHO partnered in promoting equal access to information and equipment. Through the theoretical lenses of framing theory and utilization of critical discourse analysis (CDA) as the method, this paper examined the representation of Africans in twelve articles published by two newspapers. Six articles from The Guardian, a British newspaper, and Al-Jazeera, a Qatari publication, which were published between August 2020 and November 2021 were chosen because of the reputation of these papers and the pervasiveness of COVID-19 during this period. This paper also analyzed the influence of sociopolitical factors on the papers’ reportage. Despite their geographical differences, the two newspapers basically promoted equal access to information and equipment for everyone. This paper recommends other newspapers to emulate the two papers’ adherence to truthful reporting and support for cooperation between rich and poor countries. Governments and corporations must increase partnerships which fight neocolonial tendencies.