Africa News blog
African business, politics and lifestyle
Equatorial Guinea’s PR crisis
Four months into a public relations offensive, Equatorial Guinea is still struggling to get good press.
The government of the tiny West African state, eager to shake a reputation as one of the most corrupt and repressive on the planet, hired a high-powered U.S. communications firm Qorvis in May in the hope of rebranding itself as a progressive nation and a good place to do business.
But, despite a volley of press releases since with headlines like “Equatorial Guinea Advances Public Health Through Education” and “Equatorial Guinea celebrates music festival”, the country continues to draw almost exclusively negative attention in the media.
Do a Google news search on Equatorial Guinea, and you’ll find stories like “Four executed in Equatorial Guinea coup plot” and “Equatorial Guinea: Human Rights Drowning in Oil”.
