Russia has ramped up its propaganda in Africa. Here’s how to counter it and how Europe can help

Niger’s coup on July 26th drew many to wonder about the hands of Russia in this situation. The Russian state-funded paramilitary group, The Wagner Group, has applauded the coup in Niger but hasn’t addressed its own involvement in it. But it doesn’t go unnoticed that this group is heavily involved in multiple African countries like Mali, Sudan, Libya and the Central African Republic. 

Russia’s footprint in Africa isn’t limited to the private military company meddling. Mark Duerksen, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, an American think tank, explains Russia’s undeniable involvement in Africa’s online spaces. “Based on our analysis of every detected and documented campaign, Russia has been the foremost purveyor of coordinated disinformation directed at African countries.”

The majority of the disinformation and fake news populated in the online spaces of African countries has been done by the Wagner Group under the leadership of (now likely deceased) Yevgeny Prigozhin. These information disorders are carefully crafted to fuel antidemocratic and anti-West sentiments, while at the same time advancing favourable feelings for Russia.

Promoting disinformation isn’t something new started by the Wagner Group. Mette Skak, a professor of International Relations at Aarhus University mentions, “Disinformation (dezinformatsiya in Russian) is a vintage Stalinist technique of political manipulation abroad. Russian and Soviet thinking about war was always holistic, never genuinely about peaceful coexistence with liberal democracies.”

Propaganda and colonial disinformation 

Thanks to the Soviet Union’s role in supporting the independence struggle of many African countries during the Cold War, many in Africa hold Russia in favourable opinion today. Russia is using this sentiment to achieve its own gains. 

Duerksen mentions that “Often Russian-linked pages and accounts cheerlead the regimes that Russia favours, including military juntas (Mali, Sudan, Burkina Faso), isolated presidents seeking re-election or to avoid term limits (CAR, Zimbabwe), or warlords (Libya).”

In order to align Russia as Sudan’s friend, a calculated effort was employed by Russia by using Sudanese citizens to work their disinformation pages and accounts. This network of lies was able to draw a following of 440,000 users. In Eritrea, a pseudo-fact-checking report was published that denies Eritrean forces’ abuses in Tigray. On the contrary, the report accused the West of spreading disinformation.

Duerksen continues, “At a broader level, Russian disinformation targets the UN, EU, France, and other international organisations, ginning up conspiracies about their actions in Africa and seeking to scapegoat them for problems the continent faces. These campaigns present Russia and Putin as Africa’s protectors and friends.”

In 2021, Mali witnessed a massive misleading campaign that appeared on Twitter, WhatsApp and other social media platforms. This was a coordinated effort by the Wagner Group to spread anti-West feelings and promote pro-Russian sentiments. In 2019, Russia-backed African influencers worked to spread the same messages in South Africa, Mali, CAR, Cameroon and Mozambique.

Seeking support for their war against Ukraine

Russia’s aggression on Ukraine has been condemned by many African countries, yet the divided vote on the UN resolution showcases that the continent is divided on the issue. While discussing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 3.5 million tweets were generated in Africa within the first six months. 

The most discussed topic related to this was the food security Africa would face due to the war. Although the bulk of the tweets lay the blame on Russia, 10% of the tweets do lay blame on the sanctions imposed by the West.  

At the start of the war, the most talked about topic with 178,000 tweets was the supposed racism of Ukrainians and Europeans. This surfaced when African students had to flee Ukraine at the start of the war and the racism they faced while fleeing. Another topic that gained 72,000 tweets was the claim that Ukraine was hosting Nazis and Russia’s aggression was to eliminate this. 

Such coordinated content comes from Russian state media outlets like RT and Sputnik. Yevgeniy Golovchenko from the University of Copenhagen explains, “While access to RT (formerly Russia Today) is blocked in the EU, the outlet still plays a major role in other parts of the world.” More than 600 African channels use the content crafted by RT and Sputnik. 

Solutions – local work and international support

• International efforts

The European Union has been proactive in dealing with disinformation during the Covid-19 pandemic and has even asked tech giants like Meta and Google to sign up to its code of practice on disinformation. It has taken efforts to curb Russia’s propaganda within the EU by banning Russia Today and Sputnik. 

The EU can also play a role in supporting the fight against disinformation in Africa. Michigan State University professor Jeff Conroy-Krutz says that efforts are being taken to fight. “Western actors like the US State Department and European Union are clearly interested in fighting MDM [Misinformation, disinformation and malinformation] in the Sahel, as they are in much of the rest of the world, particularly when the MDM is pro-Russian or pro-Chinese.”  

In February, the European External Action Service (EEAS) held its first meeting in Brussels that addressed this issue. Together with international partners like the UN and NATO, they have launched the FIMI Information Sharing and Analysis Center. Tracking is the first step towards dealing with a mammoth task but it is still a toothless attempt without a law like the Digital Service Act in the African continent. 

• Media literacy

Duerksen told The Fix that people tend to believe false information as long as it aligns with their preconceived beliefs and opinions. “Whether they actually believe the information or not, and their likelihood of wanting to share that information [which] makes the ‘other’ look bad is higher as affective polarisation worsens.”

In 2020, Russian-backed accounts promoted military juntas and called for ‘revolution’ in the broader Sahel region. This campaign garnered a following of 140,000 accounts. This showcases how if things are aligned with one’s belief it will be shared. 

But efforts are being taken to reduce this polarisation. Duerksen notes work is being done to better digital literacy in Africa. Increased media literacy helps the audience avoid buying easily into false information. In April 2023, the African Union – European Union (AU-EU) partnership launched two new initiatives aimed at improving the digital literacy of citizens in Namibia and Uganda.

But an increased media literacy isn’t an infallible solution. As Conroy-Krutz explains, “Improving media literacy is probably important, but we still have limited empirical evidence of what works – and what might actually be counterproductive. What works in places like the US, Europe, and India might not work in Burkina Faso or Niger.”

Hence the solution is to create solutions that are local and more in sync with the unique needs of the continent. Duerksen says, “The cultivation of these communities must be local, adaptable, trusted, and equipped with the most cutting-edge methods for countering disinformation.”  

• Local solutions

Conroy-Krutz mentions how, “Some of these organisations have joined forces with researchers, journalists, media influencers, and trusted community members in an effort to directly expose and counter disinformation online and to create healthier online conversations. Examples include Beam Reports in Sudan, Benbere in Mali, and Peacemakers Corps Foundation Kenya.”

Africa Check was the continent’s first attempt at combating information disorders. Started in 2012 in South Africa, the platform has evolved into a fact-checking organisation for the continent. Other initiatives like Africa’s largest indigenous fact-checking organisation Pesa Check, FactSpace West Africa, Nigeria’s Dubawa and more are contributing towards reducing the scale of misinformation in the continent.

Hossein Derakhshan, author of the Information Disorder report for the Council of Europe, advises to “protect non-state organisations first, then watch and protect the sections of the public who have been targeted, not beyond. Also, try to generate counter-narratives rather than only counter-facts.” In this way, Russia’s strategies to influence Africa can be tackled. 

Source of the cover photo: https://depositphotos.com/home.html

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