United States of Africa TV

[astra19]

Now I don’t think this qualifies as a gem per se, but my god it’s one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen. It pops up on a lot of satellites in multiple languages (who knows how they’re paying for it!).
It shows slideshows with a voiceover about how the United States of Africa is imminent, with Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk serving on the federal council. A robotic voice was reading out its constitution, including free education, highways that link ever city to each other, and less utopian things like deporting all homosexuals and stripping their assets.

 

[Topper]

Now I don’t think this qualifies as a gem per se, but my god it’s one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen. It pops up on a lot of satellites in multiple languages (who knows how they’re paying for it!).
It shows slideshows with a voiceover about how the United States of Africa is imminent, with Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk serving on the federal council. A robotic voice was reading out its constitution, including free education, highways that link ever city to each other, and less utopian things like deporting all homosexuals and stripping their assets.

Obviously someone with either extremely good technical skills or more money than sense who is having a psychotic episode and dreaming of the impossible, @rolfw 's avatar says it all

 

[Channel Hopper]

Parts of Africa are permanent war zones, much of the infrastructure is now owned by other countries, in the main, China.

 

[rodscha]

Hello... a crazy ideology & it s on the Saudi bouquet...
so,are the Saudi becoming money-crazy?
would be good to know what MBS thinks of that channel really!

 

[Fisty McB]

It's certainly one of the most bizarre stations I've ever seen. I think it first appeared on Hotbird, but it's now spread to six different satellites - Lyngsat suggests its based from Ghana but I'm not sure where they have that info? (maybe it's just to place it "somewhere" in their country guide?) Anyway, when flicked through earlier this month it was claiming that their ambassador to the USA was Kanye West!

Just what is this channel for, and whom is it intended to serve? Saudi backing seemed logical when it was only on Hotbird given its on a SBA transponder at 13E, but its expansion to other unrelated sats/transponders makes it a bit more murky. Even if it was the Saudis, what benefit is it for them to try and back such a "US of Africa" project that the channel is promoting because if it's meant to be some sort of Psyop it's coming across as a channel run by a comedian/troll with too much money & time on their hands!

 

[astra19]

I am so curious about it too. Who is stumping up the surely thousands a month in uplink fees? I don't think any of the people in the pictures are even aware of the project, let alone involved.

 

[Channel Hopper]

The sponsors must be Nigerian, I've just seen one of their commercials - Make money by doing virtually nothing.

The end has the website, globalmoneymall.com, with the hook 'pay the membership fee before you can get the benefits'.

 

[Fisty McB]

This channel has been on a blank screen on HotBird over the last week, has the joke run its course?

 

[Analoguesat]

This channel has been on a blank screen on HotBird over the last week, has the joke run its course?

Working fine here. Although there appears to be issues with the robotic voice as it keeps repeating short phrases.

The idea of a United States of Africa has no chance - too many ideological differences & loads of the countries hate each other! Its an interesting listen for a few minutes - although who is going to pay for all these fanciful improvements to the continent?

 

[Channel Hopper]

Working fine here. Although there appears to be issues with the robotic voice as it keeps repeating short phrases.

The idea of a United States of Africa has no chance - too many ideological differences & loads of the countries hate each other! Its an interesting listen for a few minutes - although who is going to pay for all these fanciful improvements to the continent?

The Chinese

https://www.orfonline.org/research/china-in-africa/

Mandarin will be the primary language of the continent before long.

 

[Fisty McB]

Working fine here. Although there appears to be issues with the robotic voice as it keeps repeating short phrases.

Ah, seems it sprung back into action as it was still blank yesterday morning.

 

[Analoguesat]

The Chinese

https://www.orfonline.org/research/china-in-africa/

Mandarin will be the primary language of the continent before long.

What USoATV is proposing is way beyond even the Chinese.

 

[astra19]

I saw promos online for Starsat, an African satellite service owned by China. Dotted amongst the telenovelas and sports they have very strong ideological programmes about how great “communist” China is.