It’s fascinating what you can learn from a Ted Talk. I frequent a travel blog and the blogger travels internationally on a regular basis. There are some beautiful places around the world, but sadly, people look at the media rather than reality. Marek did a great job sharing his own experience dealing with outsiders’ ignorance and using it as a starting point for his entire TED Talk. Edward Said’s books, "Orientalism" and "Culture and Imperialism" are two great starting points for people looking to explore how our opinions are influenced by untrustworthy sources, primarily the media.
To know Africa, you've got to take off your rose tinted glasses and find real and genuine information. I hardly take what people tell me about something or someplace as the last word on that thing till i do more research and even get on ground to meet people one-on-one.