Russian Disinformation Targets Côte d’Ivoire
ADF STAFF
The TikTok video spread like an out-of-control fire in October. Dramatic music swelled in the background while the video frantically jumped from clips of security forces in action to police vehicles mobilizing with flashing lights and other scenes of chaos.
The voice-over, generated by artificial intelligence, urgently narrated: “Coup d’etat in Côte d’Ivoire! Alassane Ouattara has been ousted from power.”
By mid-November the video had been viewed more than 5.9 million times and shared more than 35,000 times on TikTok. Thousands of users lefts comments.
“Obviously, this is false since there has been no coup d’état in Côte d’Ivoire,” Radio France International journalist Gregory Genevrier said during the October 25 edition of his weekly podcast on disinformation. “The comments show that some internet users are falling for it.”
Having established a foothold through three military juntas in the Sahel, Russia has unleashed its disinformation machine on West Africa. It’s sprawling network of malign actors have set their sights on the coastal countries of the Gulf of Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire has experienced a recent flood of fake news.
“As the digital landscape continues to evolve, so too does the sophistication and reach of disinformation campaigns in West Africa,” data analyst Vanessa Manessong wrote in a September article published by the African Digital Democracy Observatory, a coalition of investigative and research organizations on the continent.
Manessong, who works with the African Network of Centers for Investigative Reporting, explained how Russia’s information warfare strategy seeks to undermine trust in institutions, allies and civil discourse.
“The intricate web of narratives ranging from pro-Russian to anti-French sentiments illustrates the complex geopolitical dynamics at play,” she wrote. “With tactics like copy-pasting, media impersonation, and sock puppet accounts, malign actors are adeptly exploiting vulnerabilities in the region’s information ecosystem.”
The TikTok video that circulated in October was accompanied by a screenshot on social media in which Ivoirian President Alassane Ouattara allegedly said, “I owe nothing to anyone except to France,” in an interview with Jeune Afrique magazine in May 2011.
However, the statement was debunked as disinformation, as the original quote mentions Côte d’Ivoire, not France: “I owe nothing to anyone except to the Ivoirians,” Ouattara said.
“It’s a seemingly simple recipe but unfortunately quite effective,” Genevrier said. “A fake coup d’état accompanied at the same time by a fake statement from Alassane Ouattara.”
Genevrier said RFI was unable to trace the source of this latest disinformation campaign, but research has pointed to the junta-led countries in the Sahel.
“There is a whole ecosystem of accounts based mainly in Burkina Faso and Mali,” he said. “These profiles disseminate both propaganda from transitional presidents in the Sahel and false information aimed at destabilizing neighboring regimes, particularly Benin and Côte d’Ivoire.”
In response, Ivoirian Communications Minister Amadou Coulibaly launched a national awareness campaign in partnership with the United States and a local organization called the Platform for the Fight Against Cybercrime.
“The success of this campaign depends on the active participation of all citizens and partners,” he said at the launch of the campaign in Abidjan on June 24. “Together, we can create a safer, more virtuous and reliable digital environment.”
After a successful 2023 pilot program using the slogan “Stop the Digital Sorcerer,” Côte d’Ivoire’s Communications Ministry in 2024 has led dozens of meetings and trainings with journalists, police, schoolchildren and college students to improve media literacy and awareness of misinformation, disinformation and propaganda.
“The fight against disinformation and the promotion of a secure digital space are priorities for our government,” Prime Minister Robert Beugré Mambé said at the June 24 launch event. “The National Campaign for a Respectful and Secure Digital Environment is a concrete response to these challenges.”