PARIS: A clandestine pro-Russian online operation targeted French speakers in Africa with “deceptive” AI-generated posts in a campaign likely directed by Moscow, a French government agency said on Thursday. Moscow has sought to expand its influence in Africa in recent years, including in former French colonies, with campaigns using grass-roots activists and social media. The Wagner group played a key role but Moscow has apparently moved to centralise control of information operations since the group was disbanded and reorganised following the death of its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a 2023 plane crash.
