Hergé had been accused of exhibiting a racist attitude toward Africans in an earlier story, "Tintin in the Congo", and potentially hoped to exonerate himself from such criticism by depicting Tintin and Haddock freeing African slaves in "The Red Sea Sharks". In preparing the latter story he had consulted a colleague who worked for an African-themed magazine, "L'Afrique et le Monde" ("Africa and the World"); they translated some of the passages that Hergé wished to include in the story into Yoruba. However, in January 1962 an article in the magazine "Jeune Afrique" criticised Hergé for a racist depiction of Africans in the story, an accusation that would be echoed in other publications. These claims focused on the African characters' simplistic use of pidgin language, which was similar to the speech patterns used in "Tintin in the Congo".