A clandestine pro-Russian operation targeting French-speaking Africans with “deceptive” AI-generated content is likely being directed by Moscow, according to the French government agency Viginum.
In recent years, Moscow has sought to expand its influence in Africa, especially in former French colonies, through campaigns utilising local activists and social networks.
The Wagner Group played a key role in these operations, but Moscow appears to have centralised control of disinformation efforts after the group was dissolved and reorganised following the death of its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in 2023.
Viginum, the French government agency that combats foreign disinformation campaigns, has linked Moscow’s “clandestine digital activities” to a Russian news agency operating openly in Africa, called the African Initiative.
“African Initiative is a Russian news agency established in September 2023 and based in Moscow, aiming to become the main information bridge between Russia and Africa,” Viginum stated in a report.
The report adds that the agency spreads pro-Russian and anti-Western propaganda in several languages, including French, across its channels.
Viginum further asserts that African Initiative is led by individuals suspected in several open-source investigations to be linked to Russian intelligence services, suggesting it may be a front, unofficially managed by these services to disseminate propaganda.
When contacted, African Initiative did not respond to AFP.
Claiming to be an independent media outlet, it includes among its reporters a former press officer from Wagner’s Saint Petersburg office.
Despite the complexity of its structure, the operation has not garnered much attention, and the sites appear to have been inactive since December, according to the same source.
