How Russian propaganda works in Africa

Unhealed wounds become fertile ground for narratives that appeal to historical trauma, anti-Western sentiment and cultural conservatism. It is on this emotional base that Russia's disinformation strategy in Africa is being built, according to an article by the TruthAfrica Project for EUVSDISINFO.

The TruthAfrica project emerged as a response to the growing need to monitor and challenge the spread of propaganda on the continent. It is not just about fakes, but targeted information operations designed to change perceptions of reality, reshape allies and undermine democratic development. This approach is increasingly being described by the term Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI).

Over the past months, the TruthAfrica team has been analysing how pro-Russian narratives have gained a foothold in African media space. The conclusion is unambiguous: the emphasis is on emotional impact. Russia is consistently portrayed as a "reliable partner" and a "victim of Western arrogance", a defender of "traditional values", while the West is portrayed as a greedy and hypocritical neo-colonial power.

The internet is filled with stories and visual content that do not just circulate online, but go offline - into everyday conversations and mass sentiment. From neatly edited clips in closed messengers to state media materials disguised as the opinions of "ordinary people," all of this shows how propaganda is becoming not only a stream of content, but also a cultural weapon.

Cartoons as a tool of influence

Animated videos are becoming one of the most effective tools. Bright colours, simple graphics and images understandable without translation allow to bypass language barriers and low level of media and information literacy. Such content is easy to share and is especially popular with young people. In regions where access to the Internet is limited and trust in traditional media is low, animation becomes not just entertainment, but a carrier of ideology.

Many of the spots softly or directly undermine the legitimacy of the Western presence - including French peacekeeping missions - and present Russia as a more "understanding" and close partner. A 17-country study found that many young Africans automatically adopt anti-Western narratives: they claim to "prefer Russians to the French" simply because they believe France is responsible for the stagnation of their societies. This is not a question of positive support for Russia, but of the logic of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".

Cartoon clips glorifying various armed groups and aggressively showing the expulsion of the French from the Sahel have become another stage of the pro-Russian campaign. As a result, the main enemy in popular perception is increasingly not jihadist groups that have been organising terrorist attacks for years, but France, which has been turned into a convenient scapegoat. Reinforcing and repackaging extremist narratives creates a demand for the involvement of private military companies like Wagner in the region.

Countries pay dearly for this involvement - not only in money, but also in access to natural resources. In the Central African Republic, for example, the company Lobaye Invest (part of the M-Finans structure linked to the former leader of PMC "Wagner" Yevgeny Prigozhin) was exposed as a de facto operator of gold and diamond deposits in exchange for the services of mercenaries. In parallel, the theme of "Western greed" is actively played out in the public field. A legitimate question arises: who is exploiting whose resources in the end?

A similar scheme can be seen in Mali: after the introduction of PMC "Wagner" there were registered companies Prime Security, Alpha Development and Marko Mining. Formally, they have not yet received mining licences, but the legal infrastructure has already been created - in case the authorities are unable to pay about $10 million a month for the services of Russian mercenaries.

From the Sahel to Ukraine

Animation is also actively used in the context of the war against Ukraine. For example, the series "Once Upon a Time," distributed by the pro-Russian Telegram channel Rybar, depicts the Russian military as noble heroes "waging a just war," and the Ukrainian military as weak, cowardly, and completely controlled by the West. Ukraine is portrayed as a "non-existent" or "artificial" state, and in one of the episodes the Ukrainian characters allegedly fight only for the dream of going to the United States.

The "Russia is not the aggressor but the victim" view is replicated not only in Africa but also in Europe, as well as in the Middle East and North Africa. Pro-Russian spokesmen present the war as a "forced response" to NATO expansion and "Western hostility," which helps Moscow seek political support and weaken Western influence.

At the same time, the myth persists that Russia itself was supposedly not a colonial power and has always acted "on an equal footing." Historical facts contradict this. In the 19th century, Russia made attempts to establish colonies, including "New Moscow" in Ethiopia and on the shores of the Red Sea. Figures such as Nikolai Ashinov used deception and private schemes to avoid direct military confrontation, while seeking to gain a foothold in a strategically important region under the guise of "Orthodox solidarity." The Ethiopian authorities foiled these attempts. Earlier, in the 18th century, Russia was interested in Madagascar as a possible gateway to the Indian Ocean. Plus its own expansion in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 all demonstrate classic imperial practices.

The longstanding support of the USSR and Russia for armed movements in Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa and other countries does not fit the official narrative. Financial aid, arms supplies and military training were direct interference in internal conflicts, albeit under the slogans of fighting colonialism and exporting "liberation" ideology.

Another area of Russian information operations is the exploitation of disputes around LGBTQ+ rights and "traditional values". Particular attention is paid to Nigeria. Russia has positioned itself as a defender of "normal morality," reinforcing narratives that are consonant with religious and cultural resistance to LGBTQ+ communities. Pro-Russian activists and religious leaders in Nigeria are helping to replicate similar messages on social media, appealing to both Christians and Muslims, especially in the north of the country where anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment is particularly radicalised.

All of these storylines - historical revisionism, cartoons, moral arguments - add up to a single ecosystem of influence. Using real grievances, fears, and value contradictions, Russian propaganda attempts to reformat alliances, rewrite the past, and redefine the future. Russia seeks to present itself as a liberator, cultural ally, and shield against "Western decadence," building soft power not through direct occupation but through the manipulation of identity, memory, and meaning. Awareness of these strategies is key to countering them, for it is not just facts that are at stake, but the democratic sovereignty of entire nations.

TruthAfrica: How to combat disinformation

Disinformation knows no borders. From blaming Sudanese refugees for rising rental prices in Egypt to anti-vaccination conspiracies in Nigeria, a variety of malicious narratives are circulating online across Africa. Some claim that vaccines are part of a "Western plan" to reduce the continent's population, while others present "traditional medicine" as the only safe alternative. In parallel, Russia is presented as an "anti-colonial ally" and responsibility for the war in Europe is shifted to Ukraine, NATO and the US.

The TruthAfrica team has already exposed many such narratives. The project is implemented by Pravda Association - Poland's leading organisation in the field of factchecking and media literacy - together with Code for Africa, the continent's largest civic technology and data journalism initiative. TruthAfrica combines the resources of Investigative Lab and PesaCheck, two of Africa's established fact-checking and open source intelligence (OSINT) teams.

The project works at the intersection of journalism, democracy defence and digital rights. Pravda is responsible for media literacy methodologies and misinformation monitoring, while Code for Africa is responsible for the technology platform and links to local investigative networks. At the heart of the approach is a reliance on the voice of local communities and a rejection of a Eurocentric view.

Supported by the Polish Foreign Ministry, the initiative focuses on Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Chad, Egypt, Uganda and Zambia. The team uses, among others, the DISARM Framework to systematically monitor FIMI threats and publish investigations on information operations across the continent. The goal is to raise citizen awareness, counter radicalisation and give communities the tools to protect themselves from manipulation.