Who will be the three aspiring journalists selected by Moscow to become correspondents for the Russian "news agency" African Initiative? In Bamako, the 60 Malian students at the journalism school launched at the end of July by this organization run by Russian intelligence services are eagerly awaiting the results of the competition. For a month in August, all of them attended free courses, given either via online video modules or face-to-face in Bamako, by Mikhail Pozdniakov, head of African Initiative's French "editorial staff."

Le Monde and nine other international media, coordinated by Forbidden Stories – a network of investigative journalists created in 2017 to continue the work of silenced reporters – had access to the content of this training as part of an eight-month investigation into the workings of Russian disinformation in Africa.

In polished French, Pozdniakov explains the basics of journalism in eight videos, covering topics such as video shooting, data collection and fact-checking. The lessons are based on a geostrategic axis: Mali, ruled since 2020 by a junta backed by Moscow and the Russian security group Wagner.

"Internet space has become an alternative battlefield where the war is waged not by regular armies, but by journalists, information campaign specialists, political technologists and opinion leaders," said Pozdniakov in one of the videos. In another, he advises his students to enhance their articles with "striking and provocative" headlines and quotes, giving the following example: "Macron must go : The results of Lavrov's [Sergei, Russian Foreign Minister] and Yevkurov's [Yunus-Bek, Russian Deputy Defense Minister] visits to Françafrique."

All these video modules bear the seal of the African Initiative. Following the death of Wagner's leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in a jet accident in August 2023, this agency was tasked by the Russian Ministry of Defense with taking over and expanding the propaganda network that Wagner had set up on the African continent. Since then, it has been publishing online articles promoting Russian interests in Africa.

While African Initiative already has offices in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, three countries ruled by pro-Russian juntas, it is now actively seeking local correspondents in other African countries. "There are very few representatives among the Russian media who make up and cover the news agenda on the continent. The major problem is the lack of primary sources. Our journalism school is designed to address this issue," emphasized African Initiative in a July 31 article published on its website to mark the launch of the program.

You have 51.26% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.