Russia used fake accounts of deceased Africans to spread propaganda in West and Central Africa, an investigation by Al Jazeera has found.
The revelation comes as Moscow ramps up hybrid warfare in Europe with attacks and propaganda.
The investigation uncovered at least 15 fake “writers” who published over 200 articles since early 2021.
Many of the articles were critical of France’s influence in its former colonies while praising Russia’s growing presence on the continent.
Al Jazeera reported that most of the articles are “remarkably positive about Russia.”
One of the most striking cases involved Jean Claude Sendeoli, a teacher and FIFA referee from the Central African Republic (CAR) who died in 2020. His image was later used to create a fake profile under the name Gregoire Cyrille Dongobada, a supposed military observer from CAR.
According to Al Jazeera, Dongobada published at least 75 articles on politics in French-speaking Africa, including titles like “France’s Jealousy of Russia’s Success in Mali,” promoting the benefits of Russian military presence.
Investigators traced the operation to Seth Boampong Wiredu, a Ghanaian who moved to Russia in 2008 and later obtained Russian citizenship.
He worked for the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a St. Petersburg-based firm linked to Russian intelligence. The IRA, founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the former head of the Wagner Group, has been known for global disinformation campaigns.
Wiredu also appeared in a 2021 Russian action film about Wagner operatives in CAR, financed by the Wagner Group.
Investigators linked his activities to pro-Russian messaging in Africa, using WhatsApp messages and metadata from propaganda articles, which contained Cyrillic text and a Russian country code.
