The findings come as Moscow intensifies its hybrid warfare strategy worldwide, including disinformation and hacking campaigns in Europe.
Al Jazeera identified at least 15 fictitious “writers” who collectively published more than 200 articles since early 2021. Many pieces harshly criticized French influence in Africa’s former colonies and lauded Russia’s increasing military role on the continent.
One case involves the late Central African Republic (CAR) teacher and FIFA referee, Jean Claude Sendeoli, who died in 2020.
His image was used to create a bogus persona named “Gregoire Cyrille Dongobada,” presented as a CAR-based military observer.
This alias reportedly authored at least 75 articles championing Russian deployments in Mali and elsewhere, with headlines like “France’s Jealousy of Russia’s Success in Mali.”
Ties to Russian intelligence
Al Jazeera traced the network to Seth Boampong Wiredu, a Ghanaian who moved to Russia in 2008 and later gained Russian citizenship.
Investigators say he once worked for the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a St. Petersburg-based “troll farm” linked to Russian intelligence. The IRA is best known for global disinformation campaigns and was founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, former leader of the Wagner Group.
Wiredu also appeared in a 2021 Russian-made action film, funded by the Wagner Group, about mercenaries operating in CAR.
Metadata from pro-Russian articles, including Cyrillic text and Russian country codes, supported Al Jazeera’s conclusion that Moscow orchestrated the campaign through a network of fake African identities.
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Source: Al Jazeera, TVP