In an era of growing technological progress and internet penetration across Sub-Saharan Africa, Russia has seized the opportunity to flood the African information landscape with deceptive narratives. Ranging from health to security, these narratives are carried by a vast amount of online manipulation levers, part of a wider foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) effort by Russia to advance their foreign policy.
Over the past half-decade, Russia has cultivated a disinformation ecosystem, where fabricated and unverified information often eclipses factual reporting and independent journalism in a number of African countries. Beyond the realm of using information manipulation against the West, this insidious activity undermines trust in democratic institutions and raises significant security concerns for local populations.
While Russia and its FIMI industry assert that the Kremlin is uniquely positioned to provide security and military assistance to nations in need, the reality paints a starkly different picture—one marked by ongoing deterioration of security and stability. This not only underscores Russia’s inability to meet its commitments but also clearly illustrates a lack of genuine intention to do so.
This section of EUvsDisinfo website features content about Russian FIMI activities in Africa based on the expertise of the EEAS, independent journalists, researchers and civil society voices. It also exposes pro-Kremlin FIMI incidents in the continent, backed up by open source data.
Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.
