Can a Streamer Change Perceptions of Africa?
Marthe Knutsen, MA African Studies
‘Imagine it took a single streamer to go to Africa and show you guys the propaganda you have been fed,’ said @Kwm_Pwr, a Ugandan-Ghanaian TikTok creator, responding to IShowSpeed’s Africa tour. ‘And the internet is free’ he added.
In January, the 21-year-old American YouTube streamer IShowSpeed went on a livestreamed Africa tour – recording in 20 countries across the continent.
For decades, narratives and negative stereotypes rooted in racism and colonial thinking have shaped how many people globally, and Americans, perceive Africa.
Soon after his first travel-streams, reaction videos began circulating on media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Many viewers proudly expressed satisfaction with how IShowSpeed showcased the continent’s diversity and beauty, offering perspectives different from mainstream media portrayals. Some even claimed he is ‘changing the minds of a whole generation’ and breaking stereotypes.
Whilst IShowSpeed was in Nigeria, he celebrated his 21st birthday and hit 50 million subscribers. His streams from Ethiopia got over 11 million views, while his stream from the AFCON final in Morocco had over 15 million views.
What sets IShowSpeed apart in the digital content world is his raw and unedited setup. The streamer often keeps the camera running live for several hours, where fans can follow experiences in real-time. His high-tempo and unscripted broadcasts can last anywhere from three to 11 hours.
Ether, an African-American gamer, expressed shock at what he was seeing in the streams. In a tearful video, he shared: ‘American history brainwashed us so bad.’ Similar reactions followed, many of them from U.S. audiences who linked their astonishment directly to the education system in the USA.
The shock itself at how Africa ‘really is’ seems to have become the biggest surprise among viewers. ‘Do you all not understand this is 54 countries, not just one giant Sahara?’ the TikToker @dt2flyy asked. Adut, a South Sudanese model living in the U.S., was stunned by the deeply ingrained stereotypes about the continent that persist. She said: ‘Speed being in Africa has really shown how ignorant people still are.’
Beyond entertainment, it has become clear that Speed has showcased parts of Africa that mainstream media and Western education have historically overlooked.
Yet his streams also revealed some of his own misperceptions. For instance, while visiting a market in Nigeria, he remarked: ‘What are they saying? It is like they are speaking English, but a different kind of English,’ when he heard Nigerians speaking Pidgin. IShowSpeed’s trip seems to have been an eventful process of unlearning and relearning, witnessed before millions of viewers who are learning alongside him.
While it may be an overgeneralization to think that a single streamer could change perceptions of an entire continent or undo narratives rooted in intense racism and colonial history, his visit appears to have triggered further discussions in an ongoing debate. ‘It is a start,’ Samba Yonga, the mother of Zambian teenager Chinyama, told the BBC during IShowSpeed’s visit: ‘Speed has activated an internal compass in many young people - across the diaspora and on the continent - who have been quietly searching for belonging, pride and collective identity.’
