Researchers analyzed twenty suspicious YouTube channels acting in a highly similar fashion, mimicking pro-Kremlin and anti-Western news content in videos targeting African audiences in several countries.

The channels published content targeting Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, Mali, Rwanda, and Congo. Their videos covered real news events but presented them in a misleading way with clickbait titles that further sensationalized the content. Notably, one of the channels was cited by a media outlet and in an academic study, highlighting the breakout ability of such content to reach different audiences outside of YouTube.

Additional suspicious posts on X appear to indicate that the YouTube channels’ best performing content denigrated French politicians following the Niger crisis, along with videos in favor of South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of alleged genocidal acts against Palestinians. Certain posts also shared videos with pro-Russian views on the presence of Wagner soldiers in West Africa that criticized the role of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).