Facebook announced Tuesday that it had dismantled three networks of fake accounts involved in interference activities in Africa. These are two Russian networks and a French network. According to the social network, the people behind the French network are “close to the army” and were acting in a coordinated manner to influence public opinion.
84 Facebook accounts, 6 pages, 9 groups and 14 Instagram accounts. They were all managed from France and some of them have been active since 2018. A veritable troll network was dismantled and suppressed by Facebook, mainly targeting the Central African Republic and Mali, and to a lesser extent Niger, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Chad.
The people behind these false accounts pretended to be inhabitants of these countries, explained Facebook, and posted messages in favor of the French army or French policy in Africa, but also criticisms and accusations of Russian interference in the Central African Republic, notably.
These attempts to manipulate public opinion are orchestrated “by individuals associated with the French army”, according to the firm. However, the investigation was unable to show any direct link with the government or the army.
Solicited by the media, the Ministry of Defense in Paris kicked the issue to the sidelines. “For many months now, we have been observing the increase in disinformation actions with the aim of destabilization.”But it is impossible to attribute any responsibility, according to the ministry, “because of the multiplicity of actors in this information struggle.
Two Russian networks of dozens of fake accounts have also been dismantled and Facebook even claims that its investigation goes back as far as the Russian Internet Research Agency and the sulphurous businessman Yevgeni Prigojine, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
If the French trolls were content to use fake accounts on social networks, the Russians, more efficient, also relied on local media or online advertising. Their messages in favor of President Touadéra’s policy in CAR or against French action in Africa were thus followed by more than 260,000 subscribers against nearly 5,000 on the French side.
This is not the first time that influence campaigns have been detected in Africa, but it is the first time that Facebook has spotted two foreign campaigns interacting directly with each other. A real struggle for influence between France and Russia in Africa.