https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/27/russia-uses-social-media-channels-to-exploit-niger-coup
Moscow aiming to increase influence in Africa, winning lucrative contracts and gaining access to key resources
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Social media channels associated with the Russian state have launched a major effort to exploit last month’s military coup in Niger, seeking to reinforce Moscow’s influence in the country and possibly open opportunities for intervention.
One video that was circulated widely on TikTok and Facebook in February falsely presented footage filmed during an attempted coup in March 2021 in Niamey as a fresh incident involving firing around the president’s residence.
Similar examples found by Logically in recent weeks include a post from a Russian “fact-checking” Telegram channel with more than 600,000 subscribers that claimed instability in Niger and other nations was being fomented by western powers as a consequence of their desire to join the Brics group of developing world countries, which has been broadly supportive of Russia since the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
A second post from a Russian state-media outlet with more than 360,000 subscribers on Telegram amplified claims made by the Nigerien regime that two countries from the Ecowas regional bloc of west African nations were close to launching a military intervention to restore Bazoum to power.
“It’s unclear whether there will be a wholesale takeover of Wagner by some part of the Russian state or if Moscow will try to use a constellation of other groups as it tries to maintain the influence it has won,” said Dino Mahtani, an independent analyst and veteran observer of African affairs.
In January, an animated video showing a Wagner operative helping west African countries fight off zombie French soldiers began circulating on social media and pro-Kremlin Telegram channels.
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Ah, yes, the thinly veiled political postings that have nothing to do with the magazines topic at hand!