Russia is increasingly conducting brainwashing attacks in Africa

04.07.2024

AFRICA UNDER ATTACK BY DISINFORMATION: An overview by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies of the targets and perpetrators of disinformation campaigns on the continent.

Although the Russian Federation has been waging a draining war against Ukraine for the third year, our eastern neighbor has increased the organization of disinformation campaigns in Africa.

Last year, an analysis by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (Mapping a Surge of Disinformation in Africa – Africa Center for Strategic Studies) identified a total of 80 Russia-funded disinformation campaigns conducted in 22 African countries. Nearly 40 percent of all disinformation campaigns identified in Africa were organized by Russia.

Daniel Schaer, Estonia’s ambassador to Kenya and South Africa, categorizes disinformation campaigns based on his experience: “Campaigns that oppose all of the West to Africa, attacking Europe’s colonial history, and disinformation campaigns targeted at specific countries, such as anti-‘neo-colonialism’ campaigns conducted in South Africa.”

In Africa, there is a strong correlation between the spread of disinformation and societal instability. Disinformation campaigns have caused deadly violence, facilitated and justified military coups, intimidated civil society leaders, and provided cover for corruption and the exploitation of people. (See related story “Ilmar Raag’s Experience: Russia’s Successful Anti-France Information Campaign in Mali”).

„Desinformatsioonil on olnud reaalsed tagajärjed, see on vähendanud aafriklaste õigusi, vabadusi ja turvalisust,“ ütleb Strateegiliste Uuringute Aafrika Keskuse analüüs.

Disinformation is being deliberately exploited at a time when, over the past seven years, 300 million Africans have become social media users. On a continent with 1.4 billion inhabitants, there are now over 400 million active social media users and 600 million internet users. Moreover, Africans rely on social media platforms for information more than people from other continents.

“Disinformation is increasingly targeting specific countries; of the 39 countries analyzed, 20 were attacked from abroad by at least three or more campaigns,” the analysis states.

Key players: Russia, China, Arab countries

Disinformation attacks are primarily targeted at countries already struggling with conflicts, further weakening them: “The vulnerability of African countries to foreign influences is evidenced by the fact that approximately 60 percent of the continent’s disinformation campaigns are funded by foreign countries – the ‘market leaders’ being Russia, China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.”

Russia remains the primary spreader of disinformation in Africa, funding 80 documented campaigns in 22 countries. This accounts for nearly 40 percent of all disinformation campaigns in Africa, reaching millions of users through tens of thousands of coordinated bots and posts.

Ambassador Daniel Schaer provides an example of the personal presence of Russian information war leaders in Africa: “When we were with a business delegation in Namibia, the director-general of TASS, who was on a visit, stayed at the same hotel.”

The aggressive spread of disinformation increases Russia’s influence in Africa. “Russia and China are the leading funders of extensive disinformation campaigns to advance their geostrategic interests and shape narratives that undermine democratic processes, promote coups in Africa, and incite anti-Western and anti-UN sentiments. Additionally, they spread confusion about climate change,” says the analysis by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.

The impact of this activity is demonstrated by the fact that just two well-known African disinformation spreaders associated with Russia have over 28 million followers on social media. The content of these channels is further amplified by a complex ecosystem of hundreds of Russia-linked accounts and websites. In these systems, disinformation narratives disseminated by Russian state media are repeated and magnified. Russian embassies appear to have helped create a network of seemingly grassroots economic and trade cooperation organizations (Partenariat Alternatif Russie-Afrique pour le Développement Économique and Groupe Panafricain pour le Commerce et l’Investissement) to amplify disinformation.

Previously, the primary Kremlin tool for spreading disinformation in Africa was the Wagner Group, which was directly involved in half of all Russia-related campaigns on the continent. After the death of Wagner’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin last summer, Russia’s disinformation operations have been consolidated into the newly established Russian Africa Corps and the Africa Initiative News Agency, which are linked to Russian intelligence services and led by Artem Kureyev in Moscow.

Russia has been the main disseminator of disinformation in countries like South Africa, where their narratives have incited conflict between different communities and supported the African National Congress. Additionally, Russia has used influential South Africans to spread pro-Kremlin narratives both within South Africa and abroad.

Last December, Ambassador Daniel Schaer presented his credentials to Kenyan President William Ruto. The Kenyan government is dissatisfied with the activities of the Chinese-owned TikTok in their country and plans to ban its use by government officials.
Photo: MF.

China’s trump cards are big money and TikTok.

The Chinese Communist Party, through the United Front Work Department and China Media Group, is the second-largest funder of continent-wide disinformation campaigns in Africa. Last year, China conducted five regional (multi-country) disinformation campaigns, two of which supported Russian narratives.

The Chinese Communist Party’s approach is more institutionalized, with significant investments in owning IT infrastructure in Africa and influencing African media channels through cooperation agreements.

Recently, the Chinese state-controlled TikTok platform announced a campaign to enhance online safety across the African continent. This campaign will be conducted in collaboration with women’s and youth organizations of the African Union.

In reality, TikTok’s goal is to increase its market share in Africa and covertly spread Chinese narratives. The campaign launches at a time when the governments of Senegal and Somalia have banned TikTok use by state employees to prevent information leaks, and the Kenyan government plans to do the same.

Kenya’s Interior Ministry Secretary, Kithure Kindiki, stated in parliament that criminals have used TikTok to spread hostile propaganda and conduct various scams.

Ambassador Daniel Schaer emphasizes that it is also important for Estonia to counterbalance Russia and China’s disinformation campaigns. “The European Union and its member states, disparaged by Russia and China, are in fact Africa’s largest development cooperation partner, but many Africans are unaware of this,” Schaer explains. “The European Union is also South Africa’s largest trading partner, although many South Africans don’t know this. Unfortunately, it’s easy to tarnish reputations with disinformation, but much harder to convey ‘boring’ true facts.”

It is important for Estonia to explain its history to African countries. In Africa, it is not widely known that the Republic of Estonia was already independent in the early 20th century and suffered a long occupation by the Soviet Union while African countries were gaining independence from colonial rule.

Ilmar Raag’s Experience: Russia’s Successful Anti-France Information Campaign in Mali

Ilmar Raag, who served as an interpreter for the Estonian Defense Forces’ peacekeeping mission in Mali from 2021-22, describes a Russian media campaign that resulted in the termination of cooperation between Mali and France.

“With the support of Russia’s information campaign, the military cooperation between Mali and France came to an end,” says Ilmar Raag.
Photo: private collection.

“Around the same time vague reports surfaced in global media about the Mali government potentially hiring the Wagner private military company, noticeable changes occurred in Mali’s electronic media,” recalls Raag. “Previously, several online newspapers resembled genuine journalism, occasionally criticizing the government, but suddenly the criticism stopped.”

“Unexpectedly, newspapers began reporting on the successes of the Malian army in the fight against terrorism, although this was false. Since the key phrases used in various newspapers matched, it was evident that there was coordinated media planning.”

“As a secondary theme, the media began portraying Russia as a historical and reliable partner. This narrative was bolstered by a few relatively insignificant arms shipments from Russia to Mali. Wagner was never referred to as a private army or mercenaries, but always as potential support from the benevolent Russian state to Mali.”

“In continuation of the media campaign, a citizens’ group started organizing demonstrations in the capital, Bamako. These protests demanded government cooperation with Russia and the expulsion of the French. The information campaign culminated in a crisis in February 2022, ending military cooperation between Mali and France.”