Russia 'targeted Africa with Al generated posts'
Sunday Tribune
|June 15, 2025
A CLANDESTINE pro-Russian online operation targeted French speakers in Africa with “deceptive” Al-generated posts in a campaign likely directed by Moscow, a French government agency said on Thursday.
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Moscow has sought to expand its influence in Africa in recent years, including in former French colonies, with campaigns using grass-roots activists and social media.
The Wagner group played a key role but Moscow has apparently moved to centralise control of information operations since the group was disbanded and reorganised following the death of its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in a 2023 plane crash.
France’s Viginum agency, which counters foreign disinformation campaigns, linked Moscow's “clandestine digital activities” to a Russian news agency openly operating in Africa called African Initiative.
This story is from the June 15, 2025 edition of Sunday Tribune.
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