Russia's Africa disinformation operation used fake expert and ChatGPT, platforms say

Technology firms and social media platforms have exposed a Russian influence operation targeting Africa with the help of an invented academic persona. The military publication Africa Defense Forum reports that Meta, the owner of Facebook, uncovered a network originating from Russia that focused on audiences in sub-Saharan Africa.

At the center of the operation was a supposed "Dr. Manuel Godschin," presented as an independent scholar with international experience in geopolitics. Researchers at Code for Africa say the photograph attached to these articles actually shows Mikhail Malyarov, a Russian law student, not the fictional expert.

OpenAI, the maker of the ChatGPT tool, conducted its own review and found that the network used the AI system to produce social media posts and longer analytical comments on geopolitical developments in sub-Saharan Africa. The account operators mostly submitted requests in English, but sometimes typed prompts in Russian, following instructions from their supervisor.

Meta said the network targeted audiences in several countries, including Angola, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, with additional activity detected in Mali, Nigeria, Togo and Uganda. The company removed 37 Facebook accounts and 29 website pages, and shared its findings with partners who also took down content from their platforms.

According to the African Digital Democracy Observatory (ADDO), the operation used a technique known as information laundering, in which propaganda is disguised as independent expert analysis. Researchers note this approach has been seen before in state-linked influence campaigns, including those run by China. Fake think-tank websites amplified the material, and some articles even appeared on Microsoft's MSN news portal, making the fabricated expert look credible.

Code for Africa identified 38 manipulated materials that were published 73 times across at least 27 websites in eight African countries.