Russia testing new disinformation tactics in Africa

A Russian Facebook campaign specialised on spreading false information and misleading users has been identified in Africa. Facebook indicated the removal of three Russian-backed influencer networks with posts in Arabic, targeting African countries. The targeted countries include Madagascar, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Sudan, and Libya.

Investigations revealed that Russians were working with locals in the targeted countries to set up Facebook accounts which appear authentic to locals. An example was a Facebook page called the ‘Sudan Daily’ which promoted Russian policies, and sometimes criticised French and US policies in Africa.