Larry Madowo has publicly called out a French television station after it misidentified both his name and nationality in a recent broadcast, sparking online debate about media accuracy and representation of African journalists on international platforms.
The CNN journalist revealed that on Friday, February 20, he took issue with French news channel BFMTV for referring to him as Samuel Nartey George, a Ghanaian Communication Minister.
The error wasn’t just a slip of the tongue, Madowo said, it involved lifting his video content from social media while attaching it to the wrong identity and country altogether.
According to Madowo, the mixup feels more than accidental. He suggested the error appeared intentional, pointing to what he described as a complicated history with the Ghanaian minister whose name he was mistakenly labeled with.
That context, he said, made the blunder even stranger and harder to dismiss as a simple newsroom oversight.
Larry also questioned how a major international broadcaster could miss both his identity and nationality, especially after reportedly sourcing most of the footage from his own social media platforms, where his name and affiliation as a CNN journalist are clearly visible.
To him, the mistake reflected a troubling lack of basic verification, a core journalistic standard, and raised concerns about how African figures are sometimes flattened or misrepresented in global media narratives.
In a strongly worded post, Madowo shared his frustration with the station’s handling of the situation and urged viewers to see the clip for themselves:
“French TV used video from my social media and still misidentified me, calling me the Ghanaian Communication minister. He and I have a history so this mixup is odd. If you don’t remember it, go to YouTube,”
The incident has since triggered conversations online about accountability in international newsrooms, the importance of fact-checking even when repurposing user-generated content, and the broader issue of African journalists being misnamed or misidentified by foreign media.
For Madowo, the moment was not just about personal correction, it was about calling attention to standards that should be non-negotiable in global journalism, especially when media houses draw directly from creators’ own platforms.
As the clip continues to circulate, many of Madowo’s followers have echoed his concerns, urging outlets like BFMTV to correct the record and take greater care when reporting on individuals whose work they rely on to tell stories to millions of viewers.
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