Russia targets Francophones in Africa with AI-generated propaganda, French agency warns

By AFP and Global Watch | 2025-06-18

A clandestine pro-Russian online operation targeted French speakers in Africa with "deceptive" artificial intelligence (AI)-generated posts in a campaign likely directed by Moscow, a French government agency said on June 12.

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 mercenary force played a key role, but Moscow has apparently moved to centralize control of information operations since the group was disbanded and reorganized following the death of its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in a 2023 plane crash.

As Moscow faces sanctions and diplomatic isolation from the West over its invasion of Ukraine, it is aggressively seeking influence in Africa. These ties provide not only economic lifelines but also diplomatic support in forums such as the United Nations.

According to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, Russia's state-sponsored propaganda operations -- distinct from Wagner's presence -- now account for almost 40% of all disinformation campaigns across Africa, with Mali emerging as a central hub in this effort.

'Clandestine digital activities'

Russia is "increasingly using ideological influence as a weapon -- not only through disinformation but by building alternative narratives to counter the Western-led information order," the Robert Lansing Institute said in a new assessment published on May 16.

"In Africa, Russia is experimenting with deep cultural, media and psychological operations to reshape local allegiance," it added.

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.

African Initiative has become "a key element in the restructuring and implementation of Russia's information and influence strategy in Africa" after Prigozhin's death, the report said.

Its "activities are likely directed by the Russian state apparatus, particularly the Russian intelligence services," Viginum said.

The Russian news agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

With a Moscow address, African Initiative publishes in five languages including English and French and runs journalism courses and press trips in Africa.

It calls itself an independent publication, but its reporters include the former spokesperson for Wagner's office in St. Petersburg.

Seeking links

Viginum said the news agency appeared to have set up an operation, which it called "deceptive," posting AI-generated images, text and video and using "malign techniques" to boost views.

The operation using pseudo-media outlets was "likely" run by a web marketing company subcontracted by African Initiative, the report said.

The websites ran several thousand articles, largely on apolitical topics such as cinema, sport and music in an apparent bid to get linked to by other media, the report said.

Dozens of automated accounts disseminated links to the sites on blogs, with posts appearing to be AI-generated and sometimes translated from Russian, Viginum said.

Despite the complex structure, the operation did not rack up many views and the sites appear to have been inactive since December, the French agency said.

Viginum released its findings after Meta in August said it had removed Facebook accounts targeting French-speaking African countries that promoted Russia's role in the region and criticized France.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, later said it had banned accounts originating in Russia using its language models to generate images, comments and articles in English and French, posted on sites posing as news media in Africa.