Migration Maps with the News: Guidelines for ethical visualization of mobile populations

Maps showing immigration into Europe are a potential source of journalistic bias. Limited time and funding to create maps of migration can lead to dependence on data from institutions dedicated to controlling migration, in effect promoting a logic of surveillance directed at immigrants rather than a logic of hospitality based on respect for human rights. There are organizational and logistical barriers to overcome if migration is to be portrayed in ways that support thoughtful, democratic, rights-based deliberation but efforts need to be made to map migration in ways that reveal the geographical experiences of individual immigrants including their movement paths and the risks they face. This article examines unusual maps of migration, drawing on examples from news media as well as from non-governmental organizations, research teams, book authors, private companies, and entertainment media based in several European countries. The examples provide a foundation for concrete recommendations regarding the responsible use of cartographic visualization as a component of immigration news.