Propaganda Machine: Diving into the heart of Russian influence in Africa

It all began in 2022, when Forbidden Stories launched the “Story Killers” project to investigate the lethal disinformation industry operating around the world. One of the lines of inquiry that stood out to the consortium’s journalists concerned Russian propaganda campaigns in Africa. 

To explore this further, a journalist from Forbidden Stories and two colleagues from The Guardian and Paper Trail Media secretly met with Ephrem Yalike in the autumn of 2022. In a hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa, he confided that he was working for the Russians in the Central African Republic. With evidence to support, he explained how he directly participated in the disinformation machine put in place by men from the Wagner Group, designed to advance Russia’s agenda in the country.

We would have to wait two years before making his revelations public – a period during which Yalike, fearing for his life, was forced into hiding and ultimately into exile. 

From 2019 to 2022 and in total secrecy, he contributed to the propagation of false news, promoted anti-Western demonstrations, and fueled arguments in favor of the Central African regime and its supporters in Moscow.

“They can strike you down”

If Yalike agreed to share with us his experience and the documents attesting to it, it was to condemn the actions in which he participated and lay bare the propaganda techniques he used. But above all, it was to expose the clandestine forces of which he was first a witness, and then a victim.

As the “little hand” of the shadowy advisors in Wagner’s Bangui network, Yalike saw just how dangerous it was not to toe their line, let alone dare to openly oppose them.

“Staying in the Central African Republic and denouncing the system means risking your life,” said Yalike. “If you stand up for truths that go against their interests, they can strike you down.”

At a time when the tendrils of Russia’s influence continue to spread across Africa, we feel it is essential to relay Yalike’s testimony.

As part of this investigation, Forbidden Stories and its partners contacted journalists in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Those who replied to us did so under complete anonymity and shared the same observation: an omnipresent climate of fear and total self-censorship on the issue of their safety. 

“The Russians’ presence has changed the way we process information,” one of them said. “Journalists have been bought by the Russians via the junta to spread disinformation.”

While propaganda in favor of the regime and its Moscow allies is rampant, Russian activities, both military and civilian, are the subject of a complete omerta.

“The Russians have succeeded in transforming the media landscape here,” said another journalist. “With their (…) information tracking, infiltration of groups on social networks, and targeting of the regime’s critics, everyone is afraid. No one dares to speak up, even on the phone, for fear of being bugged.”

As for the journalists who once specialized in hunting “fake news,” the risks they face today have left them no choice but to stop their work altogether.