Russian-backed journalism courses in Mali raise influence concerns
The French daily Le Monde reports on journalism courses in Mali, run by the organization African Initiative, which Russian special services back the newspaper claims. This is another example of Moscow's efforts to strengthen its African influence.
According to Le Monde, in July this year, African Initiative started free online journalism courses in Mali, conducted in French by Mikhail Pozdniakov. From approximately 60 participants, six will be selected to become correspondents for this organization.
The French newspaper emphasizes that African Initiative, which describes itself as a "news agency," is actually a project supported by Russian special services. After the death of the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in August 2023, this organization was tasked by the Russian Ministry of Defence with developing a propaganda network in Africa, originally initiated by the Wagnerites.
Le Monde, in collaboration with investigative journalists from Forbidden Stories, accessed the content of lectures consisting of eight video modules. In them, Pozdniakov states, among other things, that the internet has become "an alternative battlefield where the war is waged not by regular armies but by journalists, information campaign specialists, political technology experts, and opinion leaders."
African Initiative, as noted by Le Monde, has offices in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, and is also seeking local correspondents in other African countries. In recent months, dozens of journalists from Africa have been invited for study visits to Russia.
Expert Maxime Audinet from the IRSEM centre (a think tank of the French Ministry of Defence) compares these actions to a mechanism of "information laundering."
"Although Moscow distributes content directly via its own channels, it also uses local relays (journalists) whom it educates and who will be perceived by African audiences as much more credible," said the expert.
