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It lasted less than a day. Many were individuals who had been in prison or had problems with alcohol and drugs. They were transported by a group of people who crossed the border from Russia on buses and urged them to occupy the building. Once they were inside, they turned towards Russia. There was Motorola [Arsen Pavlov, a Russian paramilitary leader who would later intervene in the war in Donbas]. Our investigation led us to talk to detainees, analyze the documents they had left when they retreated, and visit the places where they had stayed. The conclusion was indisputable, and my thesis is that the preparation for the occupation of Donbas did not begin in 2014, after the Maidan uprising [the popular uprising that led to the fleeing of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych], but much earlier, perhaps after the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008. Close to a hundred Russians crossed the border dressed as civilians, as if they were tourists. They had no weapons. They went straight to Villa María. That is where they had left the uniforms and weapons with which they appeared on the streets of Sloviansk. The church employees were involved in the preparation, including a priest, who later became one of the leaders of the armed groups. #GuerraEnUcrania #Rusia #Donbás (translated)

Gustavo Petro accused Abelardo of placing the state’s response to the earthquake in the hands of his associates to do business, including drug traffickers and a pilot he pointed out as an accomplice in the paramilitary massacre of Mapiripán. He also stated that the victims were sleeping on the streets and that Abelardo’s wife was in Paris without accounting for the donations received by her personal fund. https://t.co/5gqhwuBbZZ #Justicia #DerechosHumanos #Corrupción (translated)

Gustavo Petro defended the pension reform and denied that his government had bought support to approve it. He said that the House of Representatives backed it widely and that the then President of the Senate, Iván Name, delayed the debate for eight months so that it would fail due to lack of time. He also accused Magistrate Ibáñez of keeping it frozen for two years in the Constitutional Court, although he pointed out that the reform had already passed that stage. According to Petro, millions of elderly people, many of them from the right, could receive a pension thanks to the law. Regarding the allegations related to the UNGRD, Petro asked the Pacto Histórico bench to commission a forensic audit of the entire existence of the entity, since 2010, and to publish the names of those whom he claimed had embezzled it. He stated that only one person from the Pacto Histórico appeared on the extensive list, whom he said he had removed from the administration and whom, according to him, the party expelled. He also argued that justice should investigate whether Name had received public money through his romantic or political environment. Petro claimed that, during the first month of his government, resources were recovered that he attributed to Olmedo's group and that then the UNGRD was sidelined in the assistance to people trapped after an earthquake in the west of the country. Citing a journalistic investigation by Nueva Prensa, he stated that a private coordination center had been set up in the house of Gregory Schaller, whom he identified as Abelardo's compadre. He linked Andrés Depew, Negre — whom he described as a partner of Fernando Cerimedo — and people who, according to him, had ties to Donald Trump and businessman Dan Newlin to that place. Petro stated that Newlin had illegally lent his plane and resources during Abelardo's campaign. In the same publication, Petro mentioned businessman Yadid Jalaff, whom he said was accused of stealing Colombian-Venezuelan Monómeros, and Jorge Alberto Campillo Vélez, whom he described as one of Pablo Escobar's first pilots. He also pointed out pilot Luis Almeira Quiroz and linked him to a flight of paramilitaries from Urabá to San José del Guaviare, which, according to Petro, allowed the Mapiripán massacre, in which 50 farmers were murdered. He asked how much money had been raised to address the earthquake and if that explained why, according to him, the full operation of the UNGRD had been prevented and international aid and volunteers had been rejected. https://t.co/eiJJnl3Lxu #ReformaPensional #Justicia #Corrupción (translated)

Gustavo Petro said that he had criticized the mayor of Sincelejo many times and compared his political background to that of Abelardo de la Esprirlla: he described the former as of popular origin and the latter as a landowner. He stated that a landowner with equal or worse political habits had sent armed civilians with rifles to prevent the mayor from speaking at an event, and had insulted him and deprived him of the opportunity to defend himself. Petro maintained that he would never have acted that way with people like Fico, Galán, Rendón, Eder, or the mayor of Bucaramanga, whom he called corrupt. He also pointed out that armed civilians with rifles protecting the president, even if they worked for private security companies, could be defined as paramilitaries. He added that, in his opinion, the president should be protected by public officials subject to civilian oversight, not by private businesses, especially if they were shady and armed. https://t.co/hqGbK3wgxv #Sincelejo #PolíticaColombiana #DerechosHumanos (translated)

Iván Cepeda Castro stated that, two decades ago, paramilitary structures under the command of Salvatore Mancuso took control of the University of Córdoba and threatened, displaced or murdered professors, students, and workers, creating an environment that, he said, nullified academic deliberation. He also pointed out that Claudio Sánchez, rector during the takeover, was prosecuted for complicity with the paramilitaries and that Abelardo de la Espriella was his lawyer. Cepeda further maintained that De la Espriella had been a friend and partner of Mancuso, and he criticized him for now claiming that he would defend the university's institutional autonomy, calling him a liar. #Colombia #UniversidadDeCórdoba #DerechosHumanos (translated)

Gustavo Petro stated that the University of Córdoba had been under the control of Salvatore Mancuso, with the murders of dozens of students and professors, and pointed out that Abelardo had been an advisor to Mancuso and paramilitarism. Petro said he had held parliamentary debates on the influence of drug trafficking and paramilitary groups in politics, including public universities. He wrote that he denounced that these had been taken over to divert resources, promote violence, and restrict freedom of thought and expression. He added that, after his debates and accusations against politicians allegedly allied with armed drug traffickers, 35% of senators were convicted and imprisoned by the Supreme Court of Justice. He also claimed that the court was persecuted and replaced by the "cartel of the toga" and corrupt prosecutors. The president maintained that, after the fall of politicians linked to drug trafficking — whom he said were succeeded by family members — the University of Córdoba was freed from paramilitarism and grew significantly in coverage and quality. He stated that those who benefited from the takeover of the institution stagnated it while turning the private university into a business and hoarding peasant lands and water through violence. Petro said that these sectors governed Córdoba and had a president, despite not having a majority, and that they sought to return to the past. He attributed to them the halting of programs of his government to recover swamps, including the Grande, and to promote agrarian reform in Córdoba and Sucre. He also asserted that they wanted to stop the development of the university and the access of Cordoban youth to knowledge. Finally, he called on the Historic Pact to summon the people to elect delegates to its congress and urged resistance against what he described as a new advance of allies of drug trafficking and violence, with municipal coordinations ideally made up of women, peasants, and youth. #UniversidadDeCórdoba #Narcoparapolítica #DerechosHumanos (translated)

Gustavo Petro stated that the rector of the University of Córdoba had confronted Mancuso's paramilitarism. He said that the paramilitaries took the institution by force and killed dozens of professors and students, and he argued that Abelardo was an advisor to those groups and did business with them. He also assured that during his government there was the greatest growth of higher education in Córdoba and Sucre. #Córdoba #Educación #Colombia (translated)

The drug trafficker Gustavo Petro had the paramilitary Juan Guillermo Monsalve well-dressed in designer clothes and well-groomed with a styled beard. But with Abelardo, the luxuries came to an end. Now he will go to a regular prison. Whether he lives or not will only depend on himself. #narcotráfico #justicia #colombia (translated)

Kolumbiens neuer Präsident Abelardo de la Espriella hat die Karibikküste zur Kampfzone erklärt, um die dort agierenden Paramilitärs zu bekämpfen, was zu einem drastischen Rückgang des Tourismus und zu einer humanitären Krise in der Region geführt hat. #Kolumbien #Karibik #Tourismus

AFRICA DAILY REPORT — 29 SEPTEMBER 2026 Major developments reported during the previous 24 hours. 1. ETHIOPIA — Renewed Tigray conflict intensifies around strategic Alamata Federal-aligned forces claimed the capture of Alamata, an important supply hub south of Mekelle, after a TPLF-led offensive widened fighting into Afar and Amhara. Diplomatic sources cited by Reuters said the town had fallen or federal-aligned forces had entered it, while communications remained disrupted across Tigray. The renewed conflict is raising serious concerns about the survival of the 2022 Pretoria peace settlement. Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ethiopian-pro-government-forces-claim-capture-strategic-tigray-town-2026-09-28/ 2. DR CONGO — Ebola outbreak passes 8,000 confirmed cases Importance: 10/10 — Critical Government data showed 8,067 confirmed Ebola cases and 3,901 deaths as of September 26. The Bundibugyo-virus outbreak is now the largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic recorded in the DRC and has spread across 63 health zones in seven provinces; shortages of health workers and weaknesses in contact tracing continue to impede containment. Source: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/africa/2026-09-28-drc-ebola-infections-cross-8000-confirms-government/ 3. SOUTH AFRICA — Death toll from Wedela tavern shooting rises to 18 Importance: 9/10 — Very High Police said another victim died in hospital, raising the death toll from the weekend attack in Wedela, southwest of Johannesburg, to 18. Authorities are searching for the attackers and examining a possible connection to turf wars in illegal gold mining; a separate weekend shooting near Cape Town killed another 10 people. Source: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/south-african-police-death-toll-062225459.html 4. ZAMBIA — Government targets average 7% economic growth Importance: 8/10 — High Zambia's finance ministry says the government aims to raise average economic growth to 7% over the next three years. The target follows progress in restructuring the country's external debt and represents an attempt to translate improving macroeconomic stability into stronger sustained growth. Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/zambia-aims-lift-economic-growth-7-over-next-three-years-2026-09-28/ 5. MALI — Barrick and unions reach agreement, averting gold-mine strike Importance: 8/10 — High Barrick Mining signed a new collective bargaining agreement with unions at the Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex, and planned strike action was withdrawn. The agreement reduces immediate operational risk at one of Mali's most important gold-producing assets following a prolonged period of tension involving the miner, workers and the Malian authorities. Source: https://www.brecorder.com/news/40441512/mali-gold-mine-barrick-mining-reaches-deal-with-unions 6. KENYA — Court of Appeal upholds Affordable Housing Levy Kenya's Court of Appeal dismissed challenges to the Affordable Housing Act and levy, upholding the legal framework underpinning one of President William Ruto's major domestic programmes. The judges also upheld the Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner's role in collecting the levy, although they found that the Commission on Revenue Allocation should have been consulted before parliamentary debate. Source: https://allafrica.com/stories/202609280027.html 7. ETHIOPIA–SUDAN — Accusations over support for armed groups deepen regional tensions Ethiopia's army chief accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting forces fighting federal troops amid renewed warfare in northern Ethiopia. Sudan rejected the allegations as baseless and counter-accused Ethiopia of facilitating support for Sudan's paramilitary RSF, adding another interstate dimension to the conflicts destabilising the Horn of Africa. Source: https://apnews.com/article/6b3208122a4221f3c2e8dcbe21630016 8. UGANDA — Police confirm detention of activist Praise Aloikin Ugandan police confirmed that activist Praise Aloikin Opoloje is in custody after activists and associates had reported her missing. Police said she had been arrested and would be brought before a court; Aloikin participated in the 2024 anti-corruption protests and has publicly criticised political and security figures. Source: https://allafrica.com/stories/202609280365.html 9. SOUTH AFRICA — Rand weakens as high oil prices increase economic pressure Importance: 7.5/10 — High The rand weakened about 0.5% against the dollar in early Monday trade as Middle East tensions pushed Brent crude above $107 per barrel. Because South Africa imports most of its fuel, sustained high oil prices pose risks through higher import costs and inflationary pressure. Source: https://www.channelafrica.co.za/channelafrica/news/rand-slips-as-us-iran-stalemate-pushes-oil-prices-higher/ 10. AFRICA — AFCON 2027 qualification moves into Matchday 2 Importance: 6/10 — Moderate The latest qualifying round opened with Burkina Faso beating Central African Republic 1–0, Equatorial Guinea defeating Sierra Leone 1–0, DR Congo beating Zimbabwe 2–1 and Tunisia drawing 2–2 with Botswana. September 29 brings a large slate including Ethiopia–Senegal, South Sudan–Egypt, Ghana–Gambia, Guinea-Bissau–Nigeria and Zambia–Togo. Source: https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/6/577635/Sports/Africa-Cup-of-Nations-qualifiers-results-amp%3B-fixt.aspx #Africa #AfricaNews #TopNewsOfAfrica #SouthAfrica #Wedela #Johannesburg #TavernShooting #MassShooting #ViolentCrime #IllegalMining #PublicSafety #Zambia #ZambianEconomy #EconomicGrowth #GDPGrowth #DebtRestructuring #Macroeconomics #AfricanEconomy #Ethiopia #Tigray #Alamata #TigrayConflict #PretoriaPeaceAgreement #HornOfAfrica #ArmedConflict #RegionalSecurity #AfricanSecurity #Geopolitics #AfricaToday #wrldorg

"Estamos aquí para seguir señalando a los verdaderos culpables. Lo que pasó el miércoles pasado con Maricarmen fue una barbaridad, pero esto sigue pasando todos los días en todos los barrios. Se siguen produciendo desahucios silenciosos, subidas masivas del alquiler, presencia de grupos paramilitares de desocupación que lo único que hacen es acosar a nuestra clase y todo esto respaldado por el Gobierno más progresista de la historia."Del mismo modo que Natalia o David, María, de 28 años, no ha dudado en acampar en Sol indignada por lo ocurrido: "Estamos aquí para seguir señalando a los verdaderos culpables. Lo que pasó el miércoles pasado con Maricarmen fue una barbaridad, pero esto sigue pasando todos los días en todos los barrios. Se siguen produciendo desahucios silenciosos, subidas masivas del alquiler, presencia de grupos paramilitares de desocupación que lo único que hacen es acosar a nuestra clase y todo esto respaldado por el Gobierno más progresista de la historia." #Desahucios #Vivienda #15M

El alcalde de Santa Marta y Abelardo han decidido mover la desalinizadora de agua de mar a potable que serviría más de 500.000 personas del norte de la ciudad al sector de pozos colorados en el sur, donde está la gran industria hotelera y la especulación inmobiliaria de lavado de activos. La rama hotelera podría hacer ella misma la desalinizadora para sus clientes. Usar el dinero público para los más ricos y los dueños de mafias, que ni viven en la región, los dueños de grandes cadenas hoteleras, y alejar a la población del agua potable, la cual habría que bombear desde lejos haciéndola cara, es lo que logra el fortalecimiento de la violencia en Santa Marta. El alcalde Pinedo abusó de mi confianza, engaña al pueblo, no explica su abrazo de amigo y socio con los jefes del grupo heredero del paramilitarismo "Conquistadores de la Sierra" , socios políticos tambien de Abelardo. Sin los jefes políticos tradicionales de Santa Marta, Riohacha y Barranquilla como amigos y socios de las bandas extorsionistas pues la violencia crece y empobrecen la región. Logre que Santa Marta fuera la ciudad con más porcentaje de población que sale de la pobreza de toda Colombia, ustedes Pinedo y Abelardo la hunden en la sangre. Dejeñé los estudios terminados de la planta desalinizadora para la zona norte y popular de Santa Marta, sólo faltaba adjudicar la construcción de la planta, dejé completamente financiada la planta con recursos de vigencias futuras, comenzando desde este año. Ya está la megasequía que debería acelerar fases, lo mismo que acelerar la reforma agraria y la entrega de tierras fértiles a campesinos, pero juegan a las pistolas con sus amigos traicionados porque saben mucho, y matan gente inocente o la ponen presa para aparentar. Hagan la planta desalinizadora donde están los pobres, hagan el megadatacenter público dejen fe arrodillarse a los gringos, extiendan la universidad pública y gratuita, entreguen las tierras que adquirimos a la campesinos e indígenas y verán como regresa el turismo y cesa la violencia. ¿Qué pasó? Si a Santa Marta le quitan el megaqñdatacenter de propiedad pública para ser nodo neural de las redes mundiales de alta capacidad computacional, si frenan el crecimiento del presupuesto para ampliar la universidad pública y gratuita del Magdalena, si suspende el socio de alias "Barbie" y Jorge 40 la reforma agraria, si no hay agua potable para las ciudades del Magdalena, lo único que van a hacer es repetir la matanza de las bananeras y de pueblo Viejo y hacer gobernador eterno a alias "Jorge 40" o sus descendientes #SantaMarta #Desalinización #AguaPotable

Il presidente colombiano Abelardo de la Espriella e il Segretario di Stato USA Marco Rubio hanno discusso una strategia contro la guerriglia e i gruppi paramilitari durante una cena a Barranquilla, mentre il Clan del Golfo continua a perpetrate violenze e attacchi contro la popolazione. #Colombia #Pace #Guerriglia

Licenciado, Ricardo, usted piensa que entre más se saquen pobres de la pobreza se hace clientelismo. No hombre, es al revés, entre más gente se deje en la pobreza más clientelismo y violencia habrá. En mi gobierno en Santa Marta hubo menos pobreza como nunca, la capital que más bajo la pobreza en cuatro años en toda Colombia, logramos hacerla centro del turismo mundial y dejamos financiada y lista para entregar la construcción de la planta desalinizadora para el agua potable. Veo suspendida la licitación de la planta desalinizadora y viene una gran sequía en dos meses. Convoco a las fuerzas ciudadanas samarias a luchar por el agua potable y la paz. Las organizaciones extorsionistas y narcotraficantes de Santa Marta empezaron su construcción en la Sierra Nevada hace medio siglo con la bonanza marimbera, nunca debieron prohibir en el mundo la marihuana, pero la prohibición dejó clanes familiares completos asesinados entre sí en el Magdalena y la Guajira. Siempre pensaron en violencia y no en la gente hasta que organizaron el paramilitarismo de Giraldo con el narcotráfico de la cocaína quien ponía todos los votos a la clase política de la ultraderecha samaria hasta que hice pública la denuncia y fueron a la cárcel; el paramilitarismo es el origen directo de los "Conquistadores de la Sierra* En la zona bananerq, la ciudad de Santa Marta, el sur del Magdalena , las sabanas de Santángel, la.masacre de pueblo viejo, la masacre de los trabajdores bananeros, ha corrido mas sangre que la que contra Gabriel García Marquez en sus " Cien años de Soledad" . En el el edificio donde se ubicó el ejército de Colombia, que bajo órdenes ultraconservadoras y gringas, asesinó a tres mil trabajdores de las bananeras en 1928 está hoy , gracias a mi gobierno, una universidad pública y gratuita para la juventud caribeña. Mi gobierno inició diálogo sociojuridico con " a conquistadores de la Sierra" y logramos de ella su voluntad de desmantelamiento total y entrega de sus líderes a la DEA que la DEA no aceptó. La fiscal se negó al sometimiento colectivo aduciendo la no existencia en la ley de la figura de sometimiento colectivo, solo existe la individual, y ahora veo que Abelardo la impulda en el Congreso en el royecto de ley del ministro Cancino y estoy de acuerdo con la idea. Pero meter sólo violencia sin diálogo socio/jurídico solo trae más violencia y pobreza. La intención de desmantelar la política del salario mínimo vital y reducir en un 40% el subsidio a las madres cabeza de familia para alimentar a sus hijos y a los adultos mayores no es más que la entrega de la sociedad a las mafias. En vez de ir con pistola al cinto, que no va a usar, Abelardo debe ir es a entregar la planta desalinizadora, el megqdatacenter de propiedad pública de Colombia, que se hará imposible si vende a ISA porque ISA es la dueña de internexa dueña a su vez, del proyecto, y debe llevar a la fiscalía a finiquitar la negociación para el desmantelamiento definitivo de "Conquistadores de la Sierra" El ejército debe reconstruir el batallón de alta montaña en la Sierra y la Policía debe fortalecer la primera compañía de policía montada que yo ya empecé en el parque natural Tayrona que reabrí lo público. Tonto sería ver a un estado que combate con violencia a "Conquistadores de la asierrq" solo para que el Clan del Golfo se tome la Sierra y el norte del Caribe. Santa Marta y la Sierra Nevada son el corazón del mundo. #Paz #SantaMarta #DesarrolloSostenible

El ministro de agricultura amigo de alias "el Barbue, paramilitar socio del actual presidente de la República, mintió. Dijo que el minagrucultura de mi gobierno había contratado 18.000 personas y hoy afirma que solo fueron 748. Eso si alista para acabar con la reforma agraria. #Agricultura #ReformaAgraria #Corrupción

Russia’s fake African newsrooms – propaganda designed to look local A Facebook user in Nairobi, Accra, Johannesburg or Luanda encounters what appears to be a local news page. It publishes stories about African politics, Western influence and relations with Russia. The language is tailored to an African audience and the page presents itself not as a foreign broadcaster, but as part of the local information landscape. Behind some of these outlets, however, Meta found operators based in Russia. In its 2026 threat research, the company disclosed a Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour network targeting audiences in Angola, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. Meta removed 37 Facebook accounts and 29 Pages connected to the operation. Around 30,000 users followed at least one of the Pages, while the operators spent approximately $7,000 on Facebook and Instagram advertising, mostly in euros and US dollars. The numbers are relatively modest. The method is considerably more important. Rather than openly distributing Russian state messaging, the network posed as local African news sources and grassroots organisations, promoting narratives about Western colonialism and political interference while presenting Russia as a credible economic and political alternative. It was an old geopolitical message delivered through a much more effective identity: not Moscow speaking to Africa, but Africans apparently speaking to one another. A news outlet that was actually an influence operation Meta's investigation found that the network attempted to conceal its Russian origin while creating media brands that appeared indigenous to the countries they targeted. Its content amplified historical grievances against former colonial powers, criticised Western involvement in Africa and promoted closer relations with Russia. One example helps illustrate how the infrastructure was assembled. A Facebook Page targeting Kenya was called Kenya Watchtower. According to OpenAI's subsequent investigation, Facebook transparency records showed that the Page had previously been named “Farmtown5”. It appears to have been acquired or repurposed rather than built from scratch as a Kenyan news organisation. Some Pages also exposed administrator locations in Russia and Ukraine. Other elements of the network had previously targeted audiences in Zambia and Namibia. This use of apparently local identities is particularly important in the African information environment. A story published by RT or another identifiable Russian outlet arrives with an obvious geopolitical provenance. The same narrative presented by something resembling an independent Kenyan, Ghanaian or South African newsroom carries a different kind of credibility. The source appears closer to the reader, and the geopolitical interest behind the message becomes less visible. Then investigators found Dr Manuel Godsin The Facebook operation was only one part of a broader information ecosystem. OpenAI investigated related activity after receiving information from Meta and subsequently banned a ChatGPT account it assessed as likely originating in Russia. OpenAI called the campaign Operation No Bell. The account was being used to generate long-form articles and social-media posts about African geopolitics. Prompts were primarily written in English, but OpenAI also observed Russian-language instructions that the user described as coming from a manager. The operator sometimes explicitly asked the model to make the material appear less AI-generated – including requests to avoid stylistic features associated with machine-generated text and to write more like a human journalist. Many articles appeared under the name “Dr Manuel Godsin”, presented as an academic with a PhD from the University of Bergen and an affiliation with an organisation called the International Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. OpenAI could find no credible evidence that Godsin existed. Searches of Norway's National Research Information Repository and the University of Bergen library produced no record of him. Investigators subsequently discovered that a photograph used to represent Godsin had appeared years earlier on a Russian professional networking site and apparently belonged to a law student in St Petersburg. The fabricated academic identity was nevertheless remarkably productive. OpenAI identified 53 online articles carrying the Godsin byline. The fiction had moved beyond fake social-media pages and into the real media ecosystem. When propaganda enters genuine newsrooms This is the most consequential aspect of the operation. The articles were not confined to websites controlled by the influence network. Some were published by genuine African news organisations, including established South African outlets. The content mixed local political issues with broader geopolitical narratives. Some pieces criticised the United States and Britain or defended Russia's role in Africa. One accused the British NGO Crisis Action of fomenting protests in South Africa. Another praised Russia's presence in the Central African Republic. Other material addressed Kenya, Angola and relations between African governments and Washington. The mechanism represents a significant evolution from the classic troll-farm model. Instead of building an audience entirely on its own platforms, an influence operator can manufacture an apparently credible expert, generate articles in his name and persuade genuine news organisations to publish them. Once this happens, the propaganda acquires something a fake Facebook Page cannot provide: the institutional credibility of a real newsroom. OpenAI assessed No Bell's social-media impact as limited. One Facebook Page had around 3,000 followers before Meta removed it, while several others had very small audiences. But the operation was more successful in placing material in established media. In OpenAI's impact framework, it approached the level at which an influence operation breaks into mainstream media. For information operators, a single article published by a recognised outlet can potentially be more valuable than thousands of impressions generated by an obviously artificial account. A much larger network of ghost journalists Subsequent research suggests that Manuel Godsin was not an isolated experiment. In August 2026, Graphika, working with Code for Africa and with support from Meta, published a much broader investigation into Russian ghostwriting operations across African media. Researchers identified 44 ghost writers and fake experts, 38 of them assessed as high-confidence fabricated personas, operating between 2021 and 2026. Their material appeared or was quoted across 138 websites and was subsequently republished through at least 113 Facebook accounts and Pages, including authentic users, coordinated inauthentic networks and official Russian communication channels. The narratives were strikingly consistent. They included criticism of France, Ukraine and the United States; attacks on organisations such as ECOWAS and the International Criminal Court; positive portrayals of Russian involvement in Africa; praise for Russian paramilitary forces; and support for sovereignty-oriented political projects such as the Alliance of Sahel States. The operation therefore extends beyond creating fake news websites. It attempts to insert Russian-aligned narratives into the legitimate African media ecosystem using identities that appear African, independent or academically authoritative. This also explains why measuring reach through the original Facebook network alone is misleading. A fabricated article may begin with an influence operator, appear in a genuine African publication, be republished elsewhere and eventually circulate without any visible connection to Russia. At that point, the provenance of the narrative has effectively been laundered. An old Russian strategy with increasingly local faces Russia's use of local intermediaries in Africa is not new. Meta documented Russian networks using African nationals as early as 2019. In 2020 it dismantled another operation involving people in Ghana and Nigeria working on behalf of individuals in Russia, with links to previous activity associated with the Internet Research Agency. More recent Meta investigations suggest that this model has continued to evolve. Networks have increasingly relied on local freelancers, social-media managers and authentic media outlets rather than exclusively operating armies of obviously fake Russian-controlled accounts. This decentralisation offers several advantages. Local operators understand language, political sensitivities and cultural references. Authentic accounts are harder to identify than newly created synthetic personas. Local media brands can also deliver narratives without immediately triggering the scepticism associated with Russian state outlets. There is no evidence that every African journalist, freelancer or publication carrying such material knowingly participates in Russian influence activity. Meta explicitly notes in its investigations that some local contractors may not know who ultimately commissioned their work. That distinction is essential. The operation's effectiveness partly depends on precisely this ambiguity between deliberate participation, commercial content placement and unwitting amplification. The objective is to make Russian narratives look African The significance of this network is therefore not its 30,000 Facebook followers or its $7,000 advertising budget. Those figures are small compared with the audiences of major African media organisations. What matters is the distribution model. Traditional foreign propaganda asks an audience to trust a foreign source. These operations attempt to remove the foreign source from the equation altogether. A Russian geopolitical narrative can be generated with AI, attributed to an expert who does not exist, published by a media organisation that does, amplified through a Facebook Page presenting itself as local, and then rediscovered elsewhere as apparently independent African analysis. By the time the reader encounters it, Moscow may have disappeared completely from the chain of attribution. The resulting information operation is therefore less about making Russian propaganda more persuasive than about making it look as though it is no longer Russian propaganda at all. In an increasingly fragmented African media environment, that may be the more important evolution to watch. SOURCES: Meta Threat Research https://threatresearch-team.github.io/indicators/meta-h1-2026-russia-based-cib-network-1/ OpenAI — Operation “No Bell” https://openai.com/index/disrupting-malicious-uses-of-ai-no-bell/ Graphika — Umbrae Ex Machina https://www.graphika.com/reports/umbrae-ex-machina News24 https://www.news24.com/southafrica/news/ai-expert-exposed-fake-kremlin-linked-analyst-planted-stories-in-african-media-20260318-0560 Vanguard https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/03/ai-expert-exposed-fake-kremlin-linked-analyst-planted-stories-in-african-media/ Meta — Russian Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour, 2019 https://about.fb.com/news/2019/10/removing-more-coordinated-inauthentic-behavior-from-russia/ Meta — Russian Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour, 2020 https://about.fb.com/news/2020/03/removing-coordinated-inauthentic-behavior-from-russia/ Meta Threat Research — Russian Use of Authentic Operators in Sub-Saharan Africa https://threatresearch-team.github.io/indicators/meta-h2-2025-russia-based-cib-network-2/ KEYWORDS: #DISINFORMED #Episode7 #Russia #Africa #RussianDisinformation #RussianInfluence #Disinformation #InformationWarfare #InfluenceOperations #ForeignInterference #FIMI #CoordinatedInauthenticBehaviour #CIB #FakeNews #FakeMedia #FakeNewsrooms #MediaImpersonation #GrassrootsManipulation #Astroturfing #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #AIPropaganda #SyntheticMedia #FakeInfluencers #SocialMediaManipulation #Facebook #Meta #OperationNoBell #AfricanMedia #MediaManipulation #Propaganda #DigitalInfluence #Angola #Ghana #Kenya #SouthAfrica #OSINT #WRLD

Myślę, że strategia działania Moskwy może być taka [kolejność może być inna + równoległość działań]: 1️⃣ Kontynuacja kampanii strategicznych uderzeń na zaplecze Ukrainy. 2️⃣Ograniczona operacja paramilitarna przeciwko Estonii ("bunt mniejszości"-zielone ludziki?) 3️⃣ #Moskwa #Ukraina #Estonia #UA #EE #RU