"With initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative, China is playing a critical role in the development of many countries in the Global South," said Meilleur Derek Murindabigwi, a senior media professional from Rwanda. "But that cannot be recognized if you look at it through the Western media. So it's up to us, African media, the Global South media, to tell the truth and promote the initiatives as they should."

KUNMING, China, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Media outlets from the Global South should strengthen their collective voice through collaboration and exchanges so that the true development stories of their countries can be told accurately and effectively, said a senior media professional.

Meilleur Derek Murindabigwi, CEO of IGIHE, a leading news and media group in Kigali, Rwanda, made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of the 2025 Global South Media and Think Tank Forum held in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, from Sept. 5 to 9.

The event gathered some 500 representatives from over 260 media outlets, think tanks and government agencies across 110 countries and regions, along with a number of international and regional organizations.

"There's a need to have a voice as the Global South. A forum like this one and collaborations among media houses from different countries are very key to being able to have a voice that counts," said Murindabigwi.

He noted that the forum allowed delegates from different continents to share experiences, have dialogues and forge cooperation in tackling global challenges and embracing new technologies such as artificial intelligence.

"When people come together, there will be fewer things that can be unbeatable," he said.

He proposed that media from the Global South unite in the fight against fake news and advocate for the dissemination of accurate information that promotes peace and understanding, rather than exacerbating conflicts.

With Western media still dominating the global narratives and often portraying the Global South in a biased or distorted manner, "it's up to us, media from Global South countries to tell our stories the way it is," said the expert.

"When you look at China-Africa cooperation through the lens of the Western media, you may be very misguided," Murindabigwi said.

"With initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative, China is playing a critical role in the development of many countries in the Global South," he said. "But that cannot be recognized if you look at it through the Western media. So it's up to us, African media, the Global South media, to tell the truth and promote the initiatives as they should."

"By joining forces and investing heavily on that side, the Global South can have very strong media that are very influential, so that people may stop consuming biased content from Western media and consume more content that is truthful about what is happening in the Global South," he added.