{
  "id": 5707564,
  "title": "Australia and Africa expand, North America and Europe shrink: UN adopts new world map",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/australia-and-africa-expand-north-america-and-europe-shrink-un-adopts",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-05T03:45:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Sydney Morning Herald",
    "slug": "the-sydney-morning-herald",
    "url": "https://www.smh.com.au/world/africa/australia-and-africa-expand-north-america-and-europe-shrink-un-adopts-new-world-map-20260905-p60uo3.html?ref=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution to promote more accurate and equitable cartographic depictions of different regions, particularly Africa. The resolution, championed by Togo on behalf of the African Group, was passed with 164 countries voting in favour, one against, and six abstaining.\n\nThe resolution encourages the use of the Equal Earth projection, which shows locations more accurately than the traditional Mercator map. The Mercator projection, commonly used since the 16th century, can make some parts of the world appear much larger or smaller than they actually are. For example, Africa appears to be the same size as Greenland on the Mercator map, but is actually 14 times larger.\n\nThe US was the only country to vote against the resolution, with some outlets reporting it claimed the new map promoted an \"ideological agenda\", while others stated it was seeking to use the map to promote \"reparations and cognitive justice\". Six countries, including Serbia, Estonia, and Ukraine, abstained from the vote. The African Union welcomed the decision, with its Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf praising Togo's leadership and the unity of African countries behind the initiative.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 8,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times - World News",
        "title": "Africa bigger, US smaller - UN adopts new map",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/africa-bigger-us-smaller-un-adopts-new-map",
        "published": "2026-09-04T18:39:30.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "UN adopts new map: Africa bigger, North America and Europe smaller",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/un-adopts-new-map-africa-bigger-north-america-and-europe-smaller",
        "published": "2026-09-04T18:58:44.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "ABC News AU",
        "title": "Africa bigger, US smaller as UN adopts a new world map",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/africa-bigger-us-smaller-as-un-adopts-a-new-world-map",
        "published": "2026-09-04T20:45:32.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "UN adopts new map with smaller US, bigger Africa",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/un-adopts-new-map-with-smaller-us-bigger-africa",
        "published": "2026-09-04T22:53:08.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "UN adopts new map with smaller US, bigger Africa",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/un-adopts-new-map-with-smaller-us-bigger-africa-5671090",
        "published": "2026-09-04T23:44:07.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "National Post",
        "title": "UN adopts ‘more accurate’ world map with larger Africa and smaller North America, Europe",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/un-adopts-more-accurate-world-map-with-larger-africa-and-smaller",
        "published": "2026-09-05T02:16:05.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Age",
        "title": "Australia and Africa expand, North America and Europe shrink: UN adopts new world map",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/australia-and-africa-expand-north-america-and-europe-shrink-un-adopts-5707801",
        "published": "2026-09-05T03:45:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}