Friend or foe? How the Central African Republic’s media reports on Russia
Central African Republic: Which news sources are pro-Russian and anti-Russian?
Executive summary: What’s the story?
Russia continues to strengthen its influence in the Central African Republic (CAR) — and, our investigation reveals, it’s no longer merely relying on sock-puppet social media accounts to sway public opinion in its favour. Russia is also using what amounts to a “franchise” model: it co-opts partners in the CAR who produce local, authentic content that resonates with the African nation’s citizens. This makes it harder for investigators to detect and identify influence campaigns.
In other parts of the world, Russia has used the media as a quick and effective method to amplify its narratives, using information warfare to craft itself as a preferred business partner (to the West) and a reliable ally. In Libya, a group linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian businessperson with close ties to President Vladimir Putin, was found to be funding a broadcast media house. In 2020, Facebook and Twitter announced the removal of accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a troll farm that used fake internet accounts, along with mis- and disinformation, to influence US voters in the 2016 presidential election. It emerged that the IRA, purporting to be a news agency called Peace Data, tricked unsuspecting freelance journalists to write on its behalf, at $250 per article. The operation exploited the Covid-19 pandemic, which exacerbated the vulnerabilities many journalists worldwide are facing.
It seems clear that Russia is using the CAR’s media to its advantage, too. Its involvement in the country has drawn both local and global attention. International media outlets and United Nations (UN) agencies have highlighted allegations of human rights abuses committed by Russian military instructors in the CAR. Russia strongly denies these reports, which are described by Russian state media as an “anti-Russia political hit job”. In the CAR, depending on who tells the story, Russia is either a reliable friend, providing humanitarian aid across the country or one to keep at arm’s length as it seeks to exploit the country’s resources.
We analysed 6,240 articles from five key digital publications in the CAR, and noted a strong delineation in how news outlets align with or against Russian narratives. The news outlets were selected from a list on CfA’s MediaData survey, which profiled 41 news organisations as part of news ecosystem mapping in the CAR. We narrowed down this list to five prominent digital news outlets because they frequently published reports about Russia.
Ndjoni Sango, which has been identified in other publications as a recipient of Russian financial support, has been found to overwhelmingly publish pro-Russian content that aligns with both Russia’s and the CAR government’s stance on Russia’s presence in the country. Articles published in this period portrayed Russia’s activities in a positive light, showcasing humanitarian aid donations from Russian entities but steering away from reports of human rights violations by Russian instructors in the CAR. Additionally, none of the articles published in this period contained the words Wagner or mercenaries in the title, at a time when both were making headlines elsewhere. (For more on these issues, see “The context” later in this document.)
Standing against Russia is Corbeau News Centrafrique (CNC), which has even been mentioned by the Russian embassy in the CAR as a propagator of anti-Russian narratives. Articles published in this period extensively highlighted the Russian military instructors, whom they explicitly named as mercenaries from the Wagner group. Also edging away from the Russian side is Le Tsunami, which also covers the Wagner group and Russian mercenaries. This analysis found that Journal de Bangui and Le Potentiel Centrafricain are neutral in their coverage of Russian-related narratives in the CAR.
The context
From military support to humanitarian aid, Russia has been edging forward in its charm offensive in the Central African Republic (CAR). As the country grappled with the continued threat from armed rebel groups, Russia — at the request of President Faustin Touadera — sent weapons, ammunition and military instructors to the CAR. Since this first deployment in 2018, Russia has supplied more weapons and deployed more military instructors; their numbers, as of July 2021, stand at 1,135. Russia has also emerged as a champion for the CAR’s economic growth, pushing for the abolition of restrictions on diamond exports from the African state. A Russian state-owned geological company has even committed to undertaking cartographic research in the country.
The increasing closeness between Russia and the CAR has caused tension between the CAR and France. For decades, France held a tight grip on its former colony, with almost every leader of CAR coming to power through a French-backed military coup. France is the CAR’s leading foreign investor, with over 20 French multinationals operating locally. Former CAR President Jean-Bedel Bokassa even publicly accused France of keeping the country as a resource provider, denying it military and economic independence.
France and Russia’s tussle for influence in the CAR has spread into the social media space. Ahead of the December 2020 elections, Russian and French disinformation campaigns sought to deceive users in the CAR. Facebook identified and suspended three networks with almost 500 accounts and pages for coordinated inauthentic behaviour. One network was linked to individuals associated with the French military, while the other two were linked to individuals associated with past activity by the Russian Internet Research Agency and Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin. The networks actively engaged with one another by commenting and criticising the opposing side.
This online arm wrestling has now spilled into the diplomatic turf, with France having suspended its military cooperation and budgetary aid to the CAR, citing the government’s failure to stop massive disinformation campaigns against it. France halted more than $12million in military aid and withdrew direct military cooperation. According to the French Foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, a “seizure of power” by Russian mercenaries in the CAR also contributed to the withdrawal of the military personnel.
The Russian mercenaries mentioned by Le Drian are a source of contention, with each side giving a different story. French President Emmanuel Macron insists that President Touadera has been “held hostage” by the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company made up of former military personnel that provides combat advice, training of local services and direct action services. The group’s contractors have reportedly taken part in conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.
The Wagner Group’s activities in the CAR made headlines in July 2018, following the death of three Russian journalists, who were killed while investigating the organisation’s activities in the CAR. Both the CAR authorities and Russia labelled this incident as a robbery. The Wagner Group was also mentioned as an organisation of concern in a March 2021 UNHCR report, which highlighted the increased recruitment and use of foreign private military companies in the CAR, as well as their close association with UN peacekeepers. Russia, however, insists that the military instructors in the CAR are not mercenaries from the Wagner Group, but are instead part of an official arrangement between the two countries. In fact, Russia has now established a publicly registered entity, Communauté des Officiers pour la Sécurité Internationale (COSI), to coordinate military training activities.
The two opposing sides of the story have been well documented in the CAR’s digital news media, with an increasingly clear distinction between Russia’s supporters and opponents. A 2020 report by the Atlantic Council noted that some media outlets — such as Le Potentiel, Les Collines de l’Oubangui, Ndjoni Sango, and Le Confident — have been receiving Russian financial support. Russia presently funds a radio station, Lengo Sango. Other outlets, such as Corbeau News Centrafrique (CNC), have been vocal in their opposition to Russia’s presence in the country and have been explicitly named by the Russian embassy, along with Africa Intelligence, as frequent propagators of anti-Russia sentiments.
The outlets
To assess the alignment of the media to Russian narratives, this research analysed the news headlines from five news sites for the frequency of keywords related to Russia’s activities in the CAR. The selection of the news sites was guided by the CfA MediaData survey, which profiled 41 news organisations as part of news ecosystem mapping in the CAR. Twenty-seven of these outlets have fully-fledged websites, which are monitored by CfA’s Civic Signal tool.
Only 7 out of the 27 media outlets monitored on CivicSignal published at least two stories per day. CfA excluded two media sources because they were media aggregators. These were Centrafrique.info and centrafrique-presse.
We narrowed down this list to five prominent outlets that publish frequently/ significantly: Corbeau News Centrafrique (CNC), Journal de Bangui, Le Potentiel Centrafricain, Le Tsunami.net and Ndjoni Sango. Using website traffic data from Similarweb, we noted that the total global monthly views to each news site of was; approximately 66,766 monthly visitors to CNC, 5,000 monthly visitors to Journal de Bangui, 5,000 monthly visitors to Le potential Centafricain, 14,349 monthly visitors to Le Tsunami and 5,000 monthly visitors to Ndjoni Sango. Further analysis indicated that Russia was in the top five sources of traffic for four out of the five news sites.
The keywords selected for analysis and subsequent categorisation were guided by the following criteria:
- Positive sentiment regarding Russia: News sites in this category had news headlines and articles which conformed to the Russian and CAR government narrative — that is, a cordial relationship between the two countries and that the military instructors in the CAR are not mercenaries. Additionally, we considered posts that excessively praised Russia’s activities in the country, such as the recently observed phenomenon of humanitarian aid donations.
- Negative sentiment regarding Russia: News sites in this category had headlines and mentions that did not conform to the narrative set by Russia and the CAR government; specifically, these headlines consistently mentioned the Wagner Group and mercenaries.
- Neutral sentiment regarding Russia: A news site was tagged as neutral if it provided an objective view of the situation in the country, not leaning towards either side.
Ndjoni Sango
Positive sentiment regarding Russia
Of the media currently being monitored, the most prolifically pro-Russian news site is Ndjoni Sango. While the website lacks an “About Us” with ownership information, an early version of the website indicates that this is a news site based in the CAR, with the main funder listed as Eric Ngaba. Ndjoni Sango was highlighted in a 2020 report by the Atlantic Council as an outlet which has been receiving Russian financial support.
An analysis of 1,224 news headlines between January and July 2021 identifies a strong pro-Russian sentiment, with their articles steering away from the contentious Wagner Group. Of the articles published in this period, none contained the words “Wagner” or “mercenaries” in the title. Frequently used keywords include Russe, rebelles, Minsuca, FACA, CPC, which allude to Russia, the rebel attacks, the MINUSCA peacekeeping mission, the CPC rebels, the CAR armed forces (FACA) and President Faustin Touadera.
The site has also contributed to the amplification of Russian activities in the country, particularly by highlighting seven instances of humanitarian aid donations from Russian entities. In the articles, Ndjoni Sango explicitly mentions that the donations are from Evgeny Prigozhin, who it describes as a Russian businessman. Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch, is a businessperson with close ties to President Vladimir Putin and has been implicated in influence operations that targeted the 2016 US elections. He was linked to the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a troll farm that used fake internet accounts along with mis- and disinformation to influence US voters in the 2016 presidential election.
Using CrowdTangle, we analysed public Facebook shares of these posts, to identify the main amplifiers of Ndjoni Sango’s content. In this period, we noted an insignificant number of shares of its posts in public Facebook groups and pages. We supplemented this analysis with an additional search on Buzzsumo, to identify the most frequently shared articles in this period; most were related to the geopolitical situation, including an editorial piece which stated that France was pushing for the withdrawal of Russian forces in the country.
Corbeau News Centrafrique (CNC)
Negative sentiment regarding Russia
Of the media being monitored, CNC has emerged as a strong opponent of Russia’s activities in the CAR, even receiving an explicit mention from the Russian embassy as propagating anti-Russian sentiments. It was also blocked during the election-runoff period in February 2021, on the grounds that it had spread “hate speech” and fake news amid a “security crisis.”
Alain Nzilo is listed as the founder and main funder of this news site; he is also the editor-in-chief. According to a 2018 CNN report, Nzilo is a journalist from the CAR who covers Russia’s presence in the country.
We analysed 1,540 headlines between January and July 2021 and, unlike Ndjoni Sango, CNC’s news headlines highlight the mercenaries and explicitly mention the Wagner Group. Frequently used keywords include rebelle, mercenaires russes, mercenaires Wagner and mort (death), referring to the rebel forces, Russian/Wagner mercenaries and the death of rebels in the various attacks.
Using CrowdTangle, we analysed Facebook shares of these posts, to identify the main amplifiers of CNC’s content. Between January and July 2021, CNC’s posts were shared 8,001 times on Facebook. The top pages which share its posts are news media pages targeting audiences in the CAR;
- Corbeau News Centrafrique, CNC’s own Facebook page,
- 236 News (a media aggregator that has been observed to syndicate most of CNC content)
- Centrafrique 24, a page that primarily shares CNCs content, however there is no open source evidence to establish the ownership links to CNC.
One of the top groups which shares CNC’s posts include:
- CNC ACTUALITÉS, which is moderated by Alain Nzilo.
- Coalition pour la refondation centrafrique (CRC), where Nzilo frequently re-shares posts published by CNC Actualites.
Additional analysis from Buzzsumo indicates that the most shared posts across social media were related to Russia: the Wagner mercenaries, a piece on humanitarian aid donations and another on the Russian-CAR film, Tourist.
Le Potentiel Centrafricain
Neutral sentiment regarding Russia
Steering away from both the Russian and Wagner discussion is Le Potentiel Centrafricain, also based in the CAR. Of 816 articles between January and July 2021, only 21 contained Russia in the headline. While the website lacks an “About Us” page with comprehensive ownership information, its Facebook page is linked to Patrick Brian Mogani.
Frequently used keywords in this period included “President Touadera”, “CPC rebels” and “the government”, generally covering the geopolitical situation in the country. We noted that the “mercenaries” keyword was used in reference to the CPC rebels
On Facebook, articles were mostly shared in groups targeting the CAR, with the prominent pages including 236 News and their own page, Le Potentiel Centrafricain.
Analysis from Buzzsumo shows that the most frequently shared articles include a mix of opinion posts on the geopolitical situation in the country.
Le Tsunami
Negative sentiment regarding Russia
Another strong critic of Russia’s activities in the CAR is Le Tsunami. Like CNC, Le Tsunami was blocked during the election-runoff period in February 2021, on the grounds that it had spread “hate speech” and fake news amid a “security crisis.”
An analysis of 851 news headlines between January and July 2021 points to a strong anti-Russia sentiment, with references to Russian mercenaries and Wagner frequently used in this period.
On Facebook, the site’s posts are most shared by 236 News and CNC ACTUALITÉS, which is moderated by CNC founder Alain Nzilo.
Journal de Bangui
Neutral sentiment regarding Russia
Part of the larger, French registered YOGAM International Group ltd, Journal de Bangui has maintained an objective view of the situation in the CAR. Only seven out of 1809 articles analysed had a mention of Russian related keywords in their title. Additionally, the articles focused on news from other countries such as the Ivory Coast, Morocco and Senegal.
Conclusion
Our investigation shows that there is a strong delineation in how news outlets align with or against Russian narratives in the CAR. Ndjoni Sango overwhelmingly publishes pro-Russian content that aligns with both Russia’s and the CAR government’s stance on Russia’s presence in the country while CNC, proactively publishes articles to highlight the atrocities committed by Russian mercenaries in the country. Le Tsunami, publishes a higher percentage of anti-Russian sentiments while Journal de Bangui and Le Potentiel Centrafricain are neutral in their coverage of Russian-related narratives in the CAR.
As part of efforts to tackle the spread of misinformation and disinformation, it is important to understand the ideological alignment of news outlets, which in turn signals their susceptibility to becoming channels for aiding misinformation.
It’s also worth noting that while media alignments and associations with other countries might change over time, due to political and financial factors, analysing and documenting those alignments within a specific timeframe can help provide background and insight for understanding the sentiments of public opinion and uncovering influence campaigns.
By ANCIR’s iLAB Investigative Team.
