"On classroom walls from Lagos to London", the standard map of the world depicts an "inflated Britain at the centre" and a dramatically "shrunken Africa", said The Times .

But this could soon change. The African Union has thrown its weight behind a "Correct the Map" campaign, calling for an end to the use of the standard Mercator map in favour of one that accurately reflects the scale of the world's second-largest continent.

"It might seem to be just a map," said Selma Haddadi, of the African Union Commission, "but in reality it is not."

'World's longest misinformation campaign'

Created in 1569 by Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator, the world map commonly used today "did a good job" of depicting the general shape of countries, said USA Today .

However, when trying to map a spher

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